SYRIA: Tens of thousands of Lebanese people flee to Syria to escape Israeli bombing while hundres of families seek refuge at Damascus University campus

Hundreds of Lebanese and foreign families are seeking refuge at the campus of Damascus University. While many wealthy Gulf State Arabs are renting out rooms at the city's top hotels, this is the government's way of providing shelter for evacuees who cannot pay. The Campus has received people of many nationalities, amongst them hundreds of Dutch who fled from Lebanon. The families are staying until they can get a place on a plane back to Europe. Thousands of Lebanese people are fleeing from Lebanon to Syria and are crossing the border everyday. Syria has set up centres at each of its four crossing points on the Syrian-Lebanese border to receive Lebanese refugees, according to Syria's Red Crescent (SRC) organisation. Syrian organisations are working hard helping the refugees to find places to stay in, transport to Damascus, and giving people food, milk and baby food. At the same time Syrian aid trucks are going to Lebanon to help people there.

ITN Source | July 21, 2006

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