Refugee rules tighten as IS reportedly seeks control of Lebanon villages

Lebanon is to impose visa restrictions on Syrians for the first time after being overwhelmed by an influx of more than 1.1 million refugees, according to documents published online. The new regulations, posted on the website of the General Security agency, come into effect on January 5 and lay out various categories, including for tourism and medical treatment. This is the first time that Lebanon has required Syrians to apply for visas. Citizens of both countries have been able to travel freely across their shared border since Lebanon gained independence in 1943. The new rule is the latest in a series of measures taken by Lebanon to stem the influx of Syrians fleeing their country’s brutal civil war.

The goal is to prevent [Syrians] from taking refuge [in Lebanon, and] to more seriously regulate the entry of Syrians.

Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas

Meanwhile, Islamic State militants holed up in the Qalamoun mountains on the Syrian-Lebanese border are seeking to gain control of nearby Lebanese villages to support their fighting positions, the head of Lebanon’s main security apparatus told Reuters. Major General Abbas Ibrahim said Lebanese forces were on high alert to prevent the hardline militants from seizing any Lebanese territory near the Qalamoun mountains, which demarcate Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria. Such crossborder incursions would add to concern that Lebanon, which suffered its own civil war in 1975-90, could be drawn further into the conflict in neighboring Syria.

Islamic State does not want to dominate Qalamoun … but they want to use it to secure their backs in the region through controlling [Lebanese] villages in contact with the Qalamoun area.

Major General Abbas Ibrahim, head of Lebanon’s General Security office

Middle East