The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Curfew placed on Syrian refugees in Lebanese border town of Arsal

The mayor of the restive northeastern border town of Arsal said Monday that municipal police and a group of residents will oversee the implementation of a curfew imposed on Syrian refugees.

“A number of municipal police members, accompanied with some of the residents, will supervise the implementation of the decision starting 10:00 p.m. Monday,” Arsal Mayor Basel Hujeiri told Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5).

Hujeiri announced over the weekend that the curfew was set in order to contain the town’s increasing crime rates, the most recent one being the attempted murder of mukhtar Mohammad Alouli last week.

The curfew on Syrian refugees residing in the town will be in effect until 7 a.m. every day starting Monday.

The Lebanese Army has upped security measures in Arsal following local media reports had emerged pertaining to a hit list that comprised of several prominent local figures after they expressed support for the Lebanese Army.

The reports had said that the list consisted of around 10 to 16 names and was written by militants.

Towns across Lebanon have been imposing curfews on Syrians since the outbreak of the crisis in the country.

But Arsal, which hosts tens of thousands of refugees, has not introduced such a measure before. Following eight suicide bombings in the border town of Al-Qaa last month, which left five people dead, Baalbek-Hermel Gov. Bashir Khodor decided to impose a curfew on Syrians.

It is believed that hundreds of Daesh and Nusra Front militants are holed up on the outskirts of Arsal and Al-Qaa.

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