UN Envoy Concludes Visit To Syria, Meets Refugees Sheltered In Lebanon - Spokesperson

UN Envoy Concludes Visit to Syria, Meets Refugees Sheltered in Lebanon - Spokesperson

UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen completed his visit to Syria and is scheduled to visit Syrian refugees in shelters in Lebanon, United Nations deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said in a press briefing on Friday

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd March, 2019) UN Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen completed his visit to Syria and is scheduled to visit Syrian refugees in shelters in Lebanon, United Nations deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said in a press briefing on Friday.

"The UN Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, concluded his visit to Syria and has been in Lebanon," Haq told reporters. "Today, the Special Envoy is visiting Syrian refugees in shelters in Mount Lebanon."

Haq noted that during his visit to Lebanon, Pedersen met with President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

Earlier on Friday, President Aoun asked US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for the United States' assistance in the process of returning the Syrian refugees home.

Lebanon, a country with a population of 4 million, has hosted some 950,000 Syrian refugees, according to the United Nations. Other sources have suggested the number of Syrian refugees could be as high as 1.5 million.

The Lebanese authorities have said the influx of refugees had significantly affected the country's economy and security, and has supported Russia's initiative to return refugees to Syria.

Syria has been in a state of conflict since 2011 with numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations unsuccessfully fighting the Syrian Army to topple the government of President Bashar Assad.