Interview: More resources needed to support Lebanese refugees, Syrian returnees in Syria: UN refugee agency chief

DAMASCUS -- United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on Tuesday urged for additional resources to assist Lebanese and Syrian families seeking refuge in Syria from Lebanon.

"We need more resources; we don't have enough," Grandi told Xinhua in an interview, underscoring the strain the influx has placed on local communities in Syria, many of which are already struggling with severe challenges after years of conflict in the country.

According to recent data from the UN, the long-simmering conflict in Syria has left 16.7 million people in the country in need of humanitarian assistance, including 7.5 million children and 7.24 million internally displaced people.

"You must remember that many people in Syria were already facing hardships even before this crisis because of the long conflict and the socio-economic situation of the country, which is very dire and difficult," said Grandi, who concluded an urgent two-day visit to Syria on Tuesday.

Apart from meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials in Damascus, Grandi also visited one of the five major routes between Syria and Lebanon -- the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing, also known as the Masnaa crossing in Lebanon -- where he saw families facing a dangerous journey to Syria due to destroyed roads and needing emergency relief.

"Several hundred thousand people have crossed the border into Syria -- about 30 percent are Lebanese and 70 percent are Syrian refugees who have been living in Lebanon and are now returning under very exceptional circumstances," he noted.

According to the UNHCR, more than 1.2 million people are currently displaced in Lebanon, and more than 250,000 people have entered Syria from Lebanon to seek refuge since Sept 23, when the Israeli army began conducting intensive attacks on Lebanon in a dangerous escalation with Hezbollah.

"People are arriving and are often hosted by Syrian families, and everybody needs help," he said. "The international community needs to do more to help Syria under these difficult circumstances."

Meanwhile, Grandi called for urgent support from donors to assist the United Nations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in coordination with the Syrian government to provide aid.

"I appeal to all donors to support the response that the United Nations and NGOs are leading to help the people arriving in coordination with the Syrian government," Grandi said, adding, "On this side of the border, it's quite an emergency, quite an extraordinary special situation."

The displaced people need food, healthcare, blankets, mattresses, and water -- the basics, he said. "They need to be helped in their journey from the border to their destination."

The UNHCR and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent are helping in these operations, noted the UN refugee agency chief, who said Monday on the social media platform X that he had appealed for $324 million "to meet the needs of all people fleeing from Lebanon to Syria and the families hosting many of them."