Lebanon urges return of Syrian refugees

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit (left) speaks with Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Sunday at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit (left) speaks with Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Sunday at Rafik Hariri International Airport in Beirut.

BEIRUT -- Lebanon used an Arab economic summit on Sunday to call for the return of Syrian refugees to safe areas of their war-torn country.

The call from Lebanese President Michel Aoun came as Syrian state media said the nation's air defenses repelled an Israeli air raid near the international airport south of Damascus -- a reminder that the nearly eight-year civil war is still underway.

The Israeli military confirmed early today that it attacked Iranian military targets in Syria, hours after carrying out the rare daylight air raid near the Damascus airport.

The statement was issued hours after Israeli missile defenses intercepted an incoming missile over the Golan Heights in the wake of the airport raid.

Until now Israel has largely refrained from public admissions of its covert military operations in neighboring Syria, in order to avoid large-scale involvement in the eight-year civil war.

Aoun told the opening session that Lebanon -- a country smaller than Connecticut -- is overwhelmed by the presence of Syrian and Palestinian refugees, who make up about half of the country's population of about 6 million people. Lebanon is also struggling with an economic crisis.

The meeting is the first economic and development summit to be held since 2013, and comes as Syria, Yemen and Libya remain gripped by violence and Iraq confronts a reconstruction challenge after its costly victory over the Islamic State group.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said nearly half of all refugees "come from our Arab world."

Qatar's ruler attended the summit, which has been marred by divisions over readmitting Syria to the Arab League. But Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani arrived shortly before the summit and left shortly after it began.

Qatar has been one of the main backers of Syrian insurgents trying to overthrow President Bashar Assad.

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have reopened their embassies in Damascus, and the visit by Qatar's ruler is widely seen as a first step to restoring relations with Syria.

Sheikh Tamim and the president of Mauritania were the only heads of state from the 22-member Arab League who went to Beirut to attend the summit. Other countries sent lower-level delegations.

The other leaders' absence appeared to be a snub to Lebanon, where groups led by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah had insisted that Assad should be invited.

"We regret the absences of some brotherly kings and presidents who have their justified excuses," Aoun said without elaborating.

"We call for a safe return of Syrian refugees to their country, especially to stable areas that can be reached and areas of low levels of violence," Aoun said in his opening address. "This should not be linked to reaching a political solution."

Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil read out the summit's final communique, which focused mostly on refugees. Syria's conflict has led to the displacement of half the country's population and created more than 5 million refugees, who fled mostly to neighboring Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey.

The statement called on the international community to "boost circumstances" that would allow the refugees to return to their home country, such as helping host countries as well as investing in the refugees' homelands.

"They should also give aid to refugees and the displaced in their countries to encourage them to return," said the final communique.

The Israeli airstrike in Syria that was reported during the summit was unusual because most previous attacks have happened at night. Sunday's air raid happened during daylight hours.

Syrian state TV said the air defenses "prevented" the attack from achieving its goals. It said Israel fired six missiles on an area near Damascus International Airport, of which five were shot down and one diverted to nearby empty farmland.

Residents of the capital said they heard five explosions early Sunday afternoon, apparently the sound of air defenses firing into the air.

Israel's army said that a rocket fired at Syria's Golan Heights, which is occupied by Israelis, was intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome air defense system.

Israeli warplanes have used Lebanon's airspace recently to strike deep inside Syria, including on a warehouse near Damascus International Airport earlier this month, according to Syrian state media.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently confirmed that Israel has struck hundreds of targets in Syria linked to Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah group, including a weapons facility two weeks ago.

Iran and Hezbollah are allied with the Syrian government in the civil war.

A Section on 01/21/2019

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