The recent assaults on the Syrian cities of Homs and Hama have sent thousands of Syrian refugees into Lebanon, with at least 2,000 arriving last weekend. Reports estimate that the number of refugees in Lebanon has reached 7,000 people - posing new challenges to the Lebanese authorities as they struggle to respond to the escalating situation.
Two shootings of Fatah officials in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain El-Hilweh in southern Lebanon this month brought back memories of violence in the camps, which resulted in a three-month battle between the army and Islamist militant groups in 2007.
The UNDP last month released a report showing improvement in Lebanon's human development index, with the country ranking 71st globally. Lebanon has improved on several indicators, including poverty reduction, life expectancy, and malnutrition.
Refugees continue to pour into Lebanon seven months into the Syrian uprising. Since March, approximately 3,800 Syrian refugees have crossed into Wadi Khaled, northern Lebanon's mountainous region.
As Palestinian refugees and Syrians marched towards the Israeli border at the Golan Heights, marking the 1967 Naksa Day, the Lebanese border nearby witnessed an odd calm. Commemorating the 1948 Nakba Day last month, Palestinian refugees walking peacefully towards the border were shot by Israeli soldiers.
The Syrian government has intensified in recent days its brutal crackdown on the protesters calling for regime change, most notably in the town of Talkalakh near the Lebanese border.
