Lebanon warns refugees not to return to Syria

BEIRUT (Xinhua) - Lebanon's Interior Ministry on Saturday warned all Syrian refugees registered in the country not to go back to Syria as of Sunday, threatening that those who leave "will be deprived of their refugee status."

The decision aimed to preserve "the safety of refugees" in Lebanon, the ministry said in a statement, adding that all concerned border authorities will be notified of this measure through the country's General Security.

"We are keen on preserving the refugees' security in Lebanon as well as relationships between Syrian refugees with Lebanese citizens to prevent any tensions," the statement said.

The ministry asked the UN agencies and other international organizations "to give this issue the utmost importance and inform Syrian refugees of the new measure."

The decision came as the Syrian embassy in Lebanon announced that it welcomed all refugees who hope to go back to vote in the upcoming presidential elections slated for next Monday.

Earlier on Wednesday and Thursday, thousands of Syrians in Lebanon streamed to the Syrian embassy in the Mount Lebanon town of Yarze near Beirut to vote in the presidential polls, triggering suffocating traffic congestion in the area.

According to the UN Higher Commission for Refugees, Lebanon now hosts more than one million Syrian refugees, which is more than a quarter of the tiny Arab country's population.

Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs has earlier said that the government was to "adopt new measures" to limit the influx of Syrian refugees, which would withdraw the refugee status of those who return to Syria and then come back to Lebanon.