Refugees Evacuate Camp after Clashing with Civil Defense

Around 700 displaced Syrians have evacuated their encampment near the Bekaa town of Deir al-Ahmar after some of them clashed with Civil Defense firefighters, media reports said.

Several firefighters were injured and the windows of their vehicle were smashed during the incident.

The Civil Defense members were on a firefighting mission near the encampment.

According to An Nahar newspaper, a blaze erupted in a bush near the refugee gathering and the refugees “were dismayed by the billowing smoke during the firefighting process and by the rising dust.”

Syrian activist Ahmed al-Qassir said on his Facebook page that the blaze had been doused by the refugees and army troops prior to the arrival of Civil Defense.

“After the fire was put out, the Civil Defense vehicle arrived and a fight erupted between one of its members and one of the residents, which prompted the vehicle driver to run over two Syrian tents,” Qassir added.

“The tenant of one of the tents was panicked due to the presence of his children in it and the encampment's residents were infuriated, so they beat up and insulted the driver, after which security forces, the army and municipal police arrived and arrested around 30 refugees,” the activist said.

“A number of the town's residents then arrived in their cars and started drifting between the tents to scare the refugees, prompting them to flee in a state of panic and terror,” Qassir added.

In the evening, the municipal chiefs, mayors and political and religious dignitaries of the Deir al-Ahmar region strongly condemned “the blatant attack by a group of Syrian refugees on Civil Defense members who were performing their humanitarian duty.”

“Due to the massive popular anger and to preserve the refugees' safety, it has been decided to prohibit the return of any of the Syrian refugees to the encampment,” they said in a statement.