Lebanon-Syria
Current situation
Syria
This month the French Court sentenced by a historic ruling in absentia three high-ranking Syrian officers to life in prison for the arrest, disappearance, and torture of two French Syrian citizens in 2013. Prominent among those convicted is a well-known general who heads the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate, one of the country's four major security branches. This sentence follows a former German conviction of a Syrian colonel in 2022. These verdicts are far from being enforced but represent milestones for the justice system against war crimes.
Nowadays hundreds of Syrians attempt to return or endure deportation. Several are the direct testimonies to what awaits them: compulsory conscription, enforced disappearances, torture in prison, property grabbing (if still existent), and assaults.
Regarding the regional scenario, Saudi Arabia has appointed the first ambassador to Syria since 2012. This is another piece of the puzzle showing the inevitable international normalization of the Syrian regime.
On the ground the situation remains unchanged and grave, making Syria a space of war between the actors involved in the conflict. After the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Israel struck the area of Qusayr (Homs) and Aleppo on the border with Lebanon, resulting in 40 deaths by one of its most lethal attacks against Syria.
Cells of the self-styled Islamic State continue to attack the desert area in the east of the country.
Moreover, in the north-west, around Idlib, which is not under the regime’s control, the riots keep going on against the armed groups who command the area and repress the dissent through targeted kidnappings and intimidation of the population.
Lebanon
In Lebanon various State bodies continue to carry out heavy restrictions of the Syrian refugees’ freedom on several levels. These limitations extend from temporary check points performed by the army, to censuses of Syrian people in the municipalities; from the action plan for repatriation in Syria that the Lebanese government presented at the 8th Brussels Conference, to the decisions taken by the GSO (General Security) to implement border controls and limit the access for illegal foreigners. These measures are meant to push the Syrians to return to Syria.
In this light, in early May the government in northern Lebanon denied permission to demonstrate in support of the Syrian refugees in Tripoli. Nevertheless, people took to the streets in order to make their voices heard.
Several deportations from Lebanon to Syria occurred as well as “voluntary repatriations”. In particular, on May 14th 200 people from the Arsal enclave (Baalbek) have left “willingly”, thanks to the collaboration between the GSO and the Syrian authorities. It was the first time since November 2022.
Furthermore, many evacuations happened in several areas, such as the one which was promoted by two Christian Lebanese parties and affected around 1.500 people in Koura (Batroun) on May 28th. The municipality justified its decision explaining that the houses where these people lived where illegal and unhealthy.
Meanwhile, southward the clashes with Israel continue: Nasrallah emphasizes Hezbollah's willingness to put pressure on the Israeli State for the end of the attack on Gaza, and stresses how these fights will have repercussions on Lebanon. In truth, these effects are already clear, both in the politics and the economy of the country. In the south, they are more tangible since the on-going conflict in the area. Whereas the situation is different in the north of the country where everything comes delayed and, at least for now, people are not directly involved.
Sharing, Work and News about Volunteers
In the beginning of May the violence and discrimination against the Syrians did not stop, however they decreased slowly throughout the month according to what Operazione Colomba’s volunteers observed.
Requests for unarmed civilian escorts were numerous, a sign of how the Syrians are not free to move around because of the several checkpoints, both permanent and temporary. Although the atmosphere seems more quiet, problems continue to arise at the refugee camp: rent for tents has raised in price from 10 to 15 dollars per month, and even the cost of water has increased from 3 to 5 dollars a month. This choice disappointed those who live in the refugee camp, thus increasing their financial difficulties and the tensions with the camp’s owner.
The volunteers’ tent received many visits from the people who wish to travel to Europe, leaving the country through the Humanitarian Corridors; often these requests are motivated by the lack of efficient medical care in Lebanon, or the fear of being imprisoned and/or deported to Syria.
The Peace Proposal for Syria
The volunteers from the project in Lebanon continue to make efforts in order to support the Peace Proposal “We the Syrians”.
For more information: www.operazionecolomba.it/en/wethesyrians/
OPERAZIONE COLOMBA
