Catholic bishops of the Maronite Catholic Church in Lebanon are warning that the Syrian migrant crisis in Lebanon is a ticking time bomb, as we read in La Croix International:

The intensification of the conflict in the Middle East, the real possibility of its escalation to a regional war has and the presence of over a million Syrian refugees in Lebanon has made the country a ticking “time bomb”, warn the Maronite Catholic bishops.

The conflict had already caused “casualties and injuries among residents of the region as well as massive destruction in several localities in southern Lebanon, not to mention the use of phosphorus bombs that have burned green spaces”, said the bishops in a detailed 9-point statement released after their meeting at the Patriarchate of Bkerké in Lebanon on January 3.

The bishops also raised concerns about the significant presence of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, stating that searches by military and security forces revealed refugees possessing ammunition and sophisticated weapons. “This is a time bomb that poses a real threat to the Lebanese people [and national authorities must] “take serious steps and adopt the necessary diplomatic and political measures to free Lebanon from this burden that weighs on its demography, its economy and its balance,” the bishops said.

The situation in Lebanon with the huge number of Syrian migrants is much worse considering the ethnic tension between Lebanese and Syrians (since Syria invaded Lebanon back in 2005). Lebanese and Syrians do have animosity between each other, and with the war between Israel and Lebanon taking place, things can get worse. The last time there were serious ethnic tensions in Lebanon there was a civil war between Maronites and Palestinians, and it culminated into a horrific massacre in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in which the Maronite Phalange butchered thousands of Palestinians. The same thing, or worse, can happen in the future between Lebanese and Syrians.