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UN Refugee Chief Visits Lebanon to Support Beirut Blast Survivors

Lisa Schlein

   GENEVA - U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi is in
   Lebanon on a 4-day visit to view the impact of the explosion that
   devastated the city of Beirut two weeks ago and to lend support to
   Lebanese and refugee survivors alike.

   Relative to its population size, Lebanon hosts the largest number of
   refugees in the world.

   The U.N. refugee agency has registered around 840,000 of the estimated
   1.5 million Syrian refugees residing in the country. The agency says
   more than 200,000 of the refugees live in Beirut and surrounding areas.

   UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch says High Commissioner Filippo Grandi will
   visit the most affected neighborhoods in the capital, then review the
   agency's overall humanitarian response in other parts of the country.
   He says Grandi will meet and listen to the plight of all those affected
   by the blast.

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