![Syrian kids are seen in a refugee camp in Tripoli, Lebanon on 3 January 2021 [Mahmut Geldi/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20210105_2_46195575_61268952.jpg?fit=920%2C613&ssl=1)
Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al-Rai has called for returning Syrian refugees to their country, saying they “cannot stay at the expense of Lebanon”.
In a TV interview, Al-Rai said: “The first war was imposed on you [Syrian refugees], but if you do not return to your homes, you are imposing on yourselves the second war, and you cannot stay at the expense of Lebanon.”
Al-Rai called on Lebanese officials to negotiate with their Syrian counterparts, including regime President Bashar Al-Assad, to return those whom the regime is willing to take back.
“The Pope wanted the Syrians to stay in Lebanon, but I submitted to him a detailed economic and social report on their impact on Lebanon and the change in its features,” Al-Rai added.
Lebanon hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees who have fled a brutal, decade-old conflict in their home country.
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