WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2018) The World Bank will continue providing help to Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan next year, Vice President for middle East and North Africa Ferid Belhaj told Sputnik.
"We are already assisting the people of Syria, the refugees that are now in Lebanon and Jordan," Belhaj said on Thursday. "We are doing a lot for them. We try to help them with jobs, education and health."
When asked about the World Bank's plans with regards to the Syrian refugees for 2019, Belhaj said, "We will continue doing that but basically for the refugees that are in Jordan and Lebanon."
As most of the heavy fighting in Syria is now over and the war is nearing its end, the Syrian government has started welcoming back citizens who were forced to flee the armed conflict and seek asylum in other countries.
The influx of more than a million Syrian refugees to Lebanon has put a strain the country's economy as Lebanon's total population was estimated at just over 6.082 million people in 2017, according to the data of the World Bank.
The UN Refugee Agency is proving financial aid to the most vulnerable Syrian refugees in the Middle East, mainly in Lebanon and Jordan. However, according to the UNHCR, this aid fails to cover all Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with the government forces fighting numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations. Russia, along with Turkey and Iran, is a guarantor of the ceasefire in the country, and also provides humanitarian assistance to Syrian civilians and is actively engaged in the settlement dialogue.
According to the latest information obtained by the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for the Reception, Allocation and Accommodation of Refugees, a total of 31,976 Syrians have returned to their homes from abroad since July 18. At the same time, UN Refugee Agency has said that there are still over 6 million registered refugees seeking asylum in 45 countries worldwide.
