(17 May 2024)
RESTRICTON SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tripoli, Lebanon – 17 May 2024
1. Various of protesters carrying Al Tahrir (liberation) party flags marching UPSOUND (Arabic) “God is great”.
2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Muhammad Ibrahim, Muslim cleric:
“Regarding the campaign and attack against our displaced brothers, it is a sinful campaign and one led by racists. The corrupt authorities have condoned these racists, which is something rejected by the majority of the people of Lebanon. Those who talk about the demographic makeup of the country should know that this makeup changed decades ago. Today, if we want to talk about numbers, the proportion of Muslims in Lebanon among the Lebanese is more than 80%, so what demographic are they talking about? Secondly, the matter of targeting the displaced and blaming them for the crises in this country is unacceptable."
3. Lebanese army watching the protest
4. Various of protesters carrying Al Tahrir (liberation) party flags marching
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fida Al-Sufi, protester:
“The Syrian brothers in this country today come from regions that have embraced migrants and displaced people, and they are suffering due to the sectarian composition present in Lebanon. Although this country benefits from the presence of Syrian refugees, the racist and sectarian spirit that permeates this system is what makes us stand up today to demand the rights of our brother."
6. Various of Lebanese army standing in line holding shields
STORYLINE:
Scores of people protested Friday in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli in support of Syrian refugees in the country amid rising sentiments against them in the crisis-hit Mediterranean nation.
The protest moved on despite a ban by the governor of north Lebanon, fearing clashes after an anti-refugee group also called for demonstrations in Tripoli, Lebanon’s second largest city.
Lebanon is home to about 6 million people and the small nation hosts nearly 780,000 registered Syrian refugees and hundreds of thousands who are unregistered making it the world’s highest refugee population per capita.
This week, more than 300 Syrian refugees headed back home to Syria in a convoy, leaving two remote northeastern towns in Lebanon.
Over the past months, leading Lebanese political parties have become increasingly vocal, demanding that Syrian refugees go back.
The pro-refugee protest was called for by the Islamic Liberation Party while the rival one was called for by the so-called "national campaign to liberate Lebanon of Syrian demographic Occupation."
Lebanon has going through a historic economic meltdown rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement by the country’s ruling class.
AP video shot by Fadi Tawil
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