BEIRUT, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese President Michel Aoun said Wednesday that Lebanon supports "a safe return" for Syrian refugees, but not in favor of "voluntary return."
According to a statement by the presidential media office, Aoun stressed that Lebanon clearly differentiates between Syrian refugees and militants, vowing that the Lebanese security agencies would continue their crackdown against sleeper cells.
"The Lebanese Army cannot be lenient with the militants who attack security forces and conduct suicide attacks against civilians and servicemen," Aoun said while meeting Kenneth Roth, head of Human Rights Watch (HRW), in Baabda Palace.
According to the United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), Lebanon hosts more than 1.1 million Syrian refugees who fled their war-torn country since the rebellion against the regime of Bashar Assad started in March 2011.
However, the Lebanese government said the total number is close to 1.5 million.
Aoun also said that Lebanese government institutions would continue to offer aid to Syrian refugees, adding that the refugees left Syria "to escape war, killing and destruction and not for political reasons."
During his meeting with Roth, Aoun reiterated Lebanon's respect for human rights, noting that Lebanon works in collaboration with civil society organizations, including HRW, "to defend human rights."
Roth praised Aoun for acting as a "role model" in his refusal to prejudice against Syrian refugees residing in Lebanon.
Human rights activists have recently called on Lebanon to conduct additional investigations into the death of four Syrian nationals detained during June 30 raids on a Syrian encampment in northeast Lebanon's border town of Arsal.
The Lebanese authorities have denied accusations of human rights violations, insisting that the deaths were of natural causes.
