BEIRUT: Lebanese towns and villages increasingly impose curfews on Syrian refugees in the country, restricting their movements, an international human rights group said today.
Human Rights Watch said the curfews "contribute to a climate of discriminatory and retaliatory practices against them." The New York-based group said in a statement that it has identified at least 45 towns and villages across Lebanon that have imposed such curfews.
"The authorities have presented no evidence that curfews for Syrian refugees are necessary for public order or security in Lebanon," said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "These curfews are just contributing to an increasingly hostile environment for Syrian refugees in the country."
Lebanon is home to more than 1 million Syrian refugees, who are already seen by many Lebanese as a burden on the tiny country with a population of just 4.5 million people.
Attacks against Syrians, as well as curfews, have intensified since Aug. 2, when Islamic militants crossed into Lebanon and captured more than 20 soldiers and police officers.