Lebanon's Michel Aoun calls for Syrian refugees to return home
Rights groups have warned against forced returns while a Syrian peace deal remains elusive
Beirut/Dubai — Lebanese President Michel Aoun urged world powers on Sunday to step up efforts for Syrian refugees to return home, regardless of any political solution to the war there. Aoun told an Arab economic summit in Beirut that Lebanon had suggested solutions for safe returns for the meeting to agree. Since the conflict broke out in Syria in 2011, more than 1-million people have fled across the border to Lebanon, where aid agencies say most live in extreme poverty. The UN says it is not yet safe to return. Lebanese officials have called for refugees to go home after Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad reclaimed most of the country with Russian and Iranian help. Divisions among Arab states over Syria, and internal disputes in Lebanon, have undermined the summit before it began, with several leaders staying away. Arab League A key point of contention has been whether to bring Syria back into the Arab League, more than seven years after its membership was suspended. Lebanon’s Iran-...
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