Lebanese authorities have enacted strict measures against migrants, which has led many Syrian refugees to attempt the dangerous sea passage to Europe.

Lebanon does not recognize the Geneva Convention for Refugees and it does not have a legal and political framework to shelter refugees.

Despite this, approximately one and a half million Syrian refugees live in Lebanon next to nearly 5 million Lebanese citizens. Also, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon since 1948.

In this context, in the last few days, Lebanese General Security, the agency responsible for the country's security and policing, announced the intention to resume "safe and voluntary returns" for Syrians who wish to go back to their home country, even if no additional details on this operation were provided.

Also read: Syrian refugees caught up in Cyprus-Lebanon spat

Syrians preparing to leave for Europe

"Following the violence I suffered in the last days, I decided to reach Europe by sea," Firas H. tells ANSA.

The Syrian refugee is 21 years old, a father, and a refugee in the Bekaa Valley. "Italy is the first leg of the trip, but I want to reach my cousin in Germany … Lebanon is growing increasingly hostile to our presence."

Just like Firas, many other Syrians are preparing to leave from the northern coast of Lebanon. "Italy is the first country in Europe where refugees arrive and are hosted", they explain.

Lebanese General Security appealed to fellow citizens not to hire or host Syrians unless they hold a regular residency permit, threatening with sanctions those who do not respect this measure.

Even the conditions to obtain or renew residency permits have become more strict.

General Security has also threatened sanctions against those who hire Syrians illegally and stated the intention to close all economic activities managed by Syrians that do not follow the rules.

Also read: Syrians in Lebanon face mounting hostility

International Conference on Syria at EU level in sight

With Brussels' approval, the governments of Cyprus and Lebanon reached an agreement for the interception of boats carrying migrants in Lebanese national waters, therefore not in European waters.

The assassination in April of a local political representative of the Lebanese Forces, a Christian-Maronite ultra-right party by a group of Syrian and Lebanese criminals, triggered a series of xenophobic acts against Syrians in Lebanon.

This wave of attacks, stoked by a series of declarations by Lebanese institutional leaders and politicians against "Syrians in Lebanon", also coincides with the approaching date of the International Conference on Syria, organized for the end of May by the European Union in Brussels.

For years, this conference has been a recurring opportunity for countries bordering Syria to ask for increased financial resources to manage "the migrant crisis".

In recent days, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, visited Beirut, where she announced that Europe would send a billion euros in aid to Lebanon over the next three years. Of these, over 250 million will be delivered to the Lebanese army "to improve the country's capacity to contrast illegal immigration."

Also read: EU-Lebanon aid package bad news for Syrian refugees?