World Food Program pledges to help relieve burden of Syrian refugees in Lebanon

BEIRUT, Oct. 22 -- The World Food Program (WFP) is committed to working with people in Lebanon to help relieve the burden of Syrian refugees in the country, said a WFP official on Monday.

"We are engaged with about 750,000 Syrian refugees and are working on projects that are benefiting the poor and the needy school children in Lebanon," said WFP Executive Director David Beasley.

Beasley's remarks came during his visit to Prime Minister designate Saad Hariri accompanied by a delegation from the German parliament.

Beasley said WFP has been spending a little bit less than a million U.S. dollars per day in Lebanon.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Lebanon hosts 976,000 registered Syrian refugees, while the government estimates the true number of Syrian refugees in the country at 1.5 million.

Political parties in Lebanon have, on many occasions, voiced their concerns about the large number of refugees in the country, saying their prolonged stay represents an economic and social burden.

Recently, the Free Patriotic Movement, founded by Lebanese President Michel Aoun, drafted a strategy to solve the issue of Syrian refugees and secure their return to their homeland.