Beirut, Dec 10 (EFE).- The Lebanese government warned on Tuesday that it would arrest those responsible for the deposed regime of Bashar al-Assad who enter its territory.
Lebanese Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi stressed at a press conference that according to information provided by his country’s General Security (secret services), “currently there are no security officials of the former Syrian regime in Lebanon, wanted by Lebanese authorities.”
“Our criterion is that anyone who is wanted for a crime inside or outside Lebanon, anyone with a judicial or international arrest warrant, will be arrested,” he warned.
In this regard, Mawlawi noted that “anyone banned from entering Lebanon or who is being prosecuted by the judiciary will not enter the country.”
He said that measures at legal border crossings between his country and Syria are “strict and decisive” and that Lebanese living in Syria can return to Lebanon if they want to.
Concerning Syrians, the minister confirmed that anyone with a legal residence on Lebanese territory can access the country.
“General Security is implementing strict measures to prevent arbitrary entry into Lebanon,” Mawlawi added.
Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi said the security situation in Lebanon remains stable and that all security agencies are closely monitoring the country.
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, Lebanon is the country with the highest number of displaced persons per capita in the world, with around 1.5 million Syrians, most of whom fled there after the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in March 2011.
Turkey, which hosts some 3 million Syrian refugees, has seen some of them return to their country after the opening of some border crossings and the fall of the Assad regime. EFE
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