A Syrian camp in northern Lebanon was assailed and set on fire at Saturday night following a fight between members of the camp and an area Lebanese family, state media reported.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) confirmed an outsized fire had broken call at a camp within the Miniyeh region and said some injured had been taken to hospital, but didn’t provide a particular number.
“The fire has spread to all or any the tented shelters” – made from plastic sheeting and wood – UNHCR spokesman Khaled Kabbara told AFP press agency .
The camp housed about 75 families, he said.
The National press agency (NNA) reported that the hearth followed an “altercation” between a member of a Lebanese family and “Syrian workers”.
Other youths from the Lebanese family then “set fire to a number of the refugees’ tents”, the NNA added.
The Lebanese Civil Defence worked to regulate the blaze while the military and police were deployed to revive calm, consistent with the report.
A security source told AFP shots were heard, saying the fight within the Bhanine area was depart when Syrian workers demanded a wage which their employers refused to pay.
However, an equivalent source said later that initial inquiries found the dispute could are sparked by the harassment of a Syrian woman.
“Some families have fled the world out of fear because there have been also sounds of explosions caused by household gas canisters berating ,” Kabbara said.
Lebanon says it hosts some 1.5 million Syrians, including about a million registered as refugees with the United Nations .
Authorities have called on refugees to return to Syria albeit rights groups warn that the war-torn country isn’t yet safe.
In November, approximately 270 Syrian refugee families fled the northern Lebanese town of Bsharre after a Syrian national was accused of shooting dead a Lebanese resident, sparking widespread tension and hostility.
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