The Syrian General Authority for Ports and Customs announced on Thursday, March 19, that it has extended the temporary stay period for private vehicles with Lebanese license plates owned by Syrian citizens.
The period has been extended to three months instead of two weeks, as a one-time extension, without the need to visit the border crossing or pay any additional fees, according to the authority’s director of relations, Mazen Aloush, in a post on his personal page.
According to Alloush, the decision came in response to requests from many Syrians arriving from Lebanon during the recent events, especially those who entered with their private Lebanese-plated vehicles and have faced difficulties returning to border crossings to renew their vehicles’ stay period.
He said the General Authority for Ports and Customs is keen to ease the suffering of Syrians in light of the humanitarian conditions they have gone through.
The decision covers vehicles that entered through border crossings with Lebanon starting from the beginning of March, as well as vehicles that will enter until the end of the month.
Alloush said the measure comes as part of the authority’s commitment to providing the “highest degree of facilitation” and support for returning Syrians, easing their burdens and helping ensure a safe and dignified return to their country.
Heavy traffic at the border
Syrian-Lebanese border crossings have been witnessing heavy traffic and congestion on the Syrian side as a result of the ongoing war between Israel on one side and Lebanon’s Hezbollah on the other, with Hezbollah positions and sites coming under intense Israeli bombardment.
Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon have caused casualties among both Lebanese and Syrians and displaced about 140,000 people, most of them Syrians, who crossed the border into Syria in search of safety.
The military operations have triggered large-scale displacement, including among Syrians living there in large numbers, some of whom have returned to the country in recent days.
UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Claudio Cordone said in a briefing to the UN Security Council yesterday, Wednesday, March 18, that Syria has not been spared the fallout of the war unfolding across the Middle East.
Those repercussions included falling debris from intercepted Iranian missiles and drones in Syrian airspace, which caused civilian casualties, in addition to a shelling incident from Lebanon attributed to Hezbollah.
He also pointed to an increase in Israeli helicopter and drone operations in Syrian airspace, and the continued Israeli incursions into Syrian territory.
On March 16, the Israeli army announced the launch of what it described as a “limited” ground operation in southern Lebanon as part of what it called an expansion of its forward defense mission.
These developments come in the context of a broader war between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other.
For its part, Hezbollah announced on March 2 that it had entered the military confrontation unfolding in the region.
The group said its involvement was “revenge for the blood of Imam Khamenei and in defense of Lebanon and its people,” after Israel killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, in an airstrike on February 28 at the start of the military confrontation.
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