The importance of the Syrian refugee issue remained of utmost importance throughout the past three years, despite the plethora of serious Lebanese political, economic and social dossiers. But the latest incidents in Arsal pushed the matter to the forefront, giving it the impetus it lacked as a result of the Lebanese government’s lack of a unified stance toward the Syrian crisis.

Will the Arsal developments push Lebanese authorities to take exceptional steps and measures, now that all the parties have sensed the gravity of the “chaotic exodus”? And, what are the feasible solutions that have been proposed now that the Arsal events have clearly shown that a large number of gunmen originated from Bekaa Valley refugee camps, particularly those around Arsal?

The latest figures published by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in early July indicate that the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon exceeds 1.1 million people; unofficial figures point to there being more than 1.5 million refugees, since a large portion are not registered. This means that the proportion of refugees has surpassed 35% of the total Lebanese population. It should be noted that displaced Syrians in Turkey, for example, amount to 4% of the country’s population; in Jordan, this figure is 18.5%.

Remarkably, from a geographic viewpoint, the largest number of refugee centers are in areas sympathetic to the Syrian opposition, among them Arsal, which formed an environment that facilitated their movement and provided them with services and protection. According to security sources, this reality on the ground encouraged a considerable number of Syrians to seek refuge in Lebanon after being wounded in fighting inside Syria. It also engendered an amenable environment for crimes such as kidnapping, robbery and drug trafficking, culminating in car bombing attacks and murder.