The Lebanese army on Tuesday (September 8th) prevented Lebanese and Syrians from leaving the country illegally by sea from the city of Tripoli, in the north of the country, the national news agency (ANI) said.
Read also: Lebanon: "no sign of life" during searches in the rubble in Beirut
"
A patrol of naval forces of the Lebanese army, in coordination with the intelligence services of the army foiled a smuggling operation of a number of people across the sea after the boat was spotted at sea off the north coast
, ”ANI reported.
"
There were Lebanese and Syrians on board and the boat returned (...) to the port of Tripoli not long ago,
" added ANI.
This is the second failure, in a few days, of an illegal flight of migrants from the port city of Tripoli.
On Saturday, a boat illegally transporting Lebanese and Syrians was intercepted off the Cypriot coast and forced to turn back.
The island is located 160 kilometers from the Lebanese coast.
On Monday, the Cypriot Minister of the Interior, Nicos Nouris, affirmed that several persons in charge would go to Lebanon quickly “
to manage the phenomenon
” of crossings, more and more frequent, “
in an efficient way
”.
In recent days, five boats, with more than 150 migrants on board, have been spotted near the Cypriot coast.
Lebanon has been going through its worst economic and social crisis in decades since last year, amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic and political instability.
The situation worsened further in the country after the explosion at the port of Beirut on August 4 that left more than 190 dead and more than 6,500 injured.
