Thousands of Syrians have crossed into neighboring Lebanon in a single day after hostilities erupted in the western Tartus and Latakia provinces, Lebanese lawmaker Saji Atiyah told Sputnik on Friday.
"Northern Lebanon, particularly the Akkar province, is experiencing a massive inflow from Syria's coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus. Most of the refugees belong to the Alawite community. After the events that took place in the Syrian provinces, thousands of people walked to the Lebanese border," Atiyah, who is from Akkar Province, said.
Atiyah said it was impossible to estimate the exact number of refugees, since Syrians were crossing the border in large groups and in an unorganized manner, wading across the river that separates Syria and Lebanon.
"The residents of Akkar are struggling to deal with the huge pressure that comes with thousands of refugees arriving within a day," Atiyah added.
The lawmaker said the local community had no humanitarian aid to support the new arrivals. He estimated that the Syrian refugee population in Lebanon could grow to 3 million. This would pose an impossible challenge for Lebanon, which has a population of 4.5 million.
Menwhile, Israel carried out more than 20 strikes on different parts of southern Lebanon in less than an hour, the Al-Manar broadcaster reported on Friday.
The strikes were carried out strikes on gorges and open areas, the report said.