STORY: More resources needed to support Lebanese refugees, Syrian returnees in Syria: UN refugee agency chief
SHOOTING TIME: Oct. 8, 2024
DATELINE: Oct. 10, 2024
LENGTH: 00:03:55
LOCATION: Damascus
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Lebanese refugee's shelter in Damascus
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): FILIPPO GRANDI, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
3. various of the refugee's shelter in Homs province
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): FILIPPO GRANDI, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
5. various of people crossing the targeted road on the border between Syria and Lebanon
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): FILIPPO GRANDI, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
7. various of the Syrian border

STORYLINE:

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on Tuesday urged for additional resources to assist Lebanese and Syrian families seeking refuge in Syria from Lebanon.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): FILIPPO GRANDI, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
"We need more resources, we don't have enough, and you must remember that in Syria already many people face hardships even before this crisis because of the long conflict, long war, and the social economic situation of the country is very dire, is very difficult. So, we should not forget that people are arriving and often are hosted by Syrian families and everybody needs help. So, we need to really, the international community, needs to do more to help Syria in this very difficult circumstances."

According to recent data from the UN, the long-simmering conflict in Syria has left 16.7 million people in the country in need of humanitarian assistance, including 7.5 million children and 7.24 million internally displaced people.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): FILIPPO GRANDI, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
"Several hundred thousand have crossed the border into Syria, about 30 percent are Lebanese and 70 percent are Syrian refugees in Lebanon that returned under very exceptional circumstances to their country. But on this side of the border, it's quite an emergency, quite an extraordinary special situation and for this reason, last night, I appealed to all donors to support the response which the United Nations and NGOs are conducting, are leading, to help the people arriving in coordination with the Syrian government."

Apart from meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials in Damascus, Grandi also visited one of the five major routes between Syria and Lebanon -- the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing, also known as the Masnaa crossing in Lebanon -- where he saw families facing a dangerous journey to Syria due to destroyed roads and needing emergency relief.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): FILIPPO GRANDI, UN High Commissioner for Refugees
"We have tried to mobilize maximum resources to help the people arriving they need everything they need food, they need healthcare, they need blankets, mattresses, they need water, they need the basics, they also need to be helped in their onward journey from the border to their destination. So, we are helping together with the Red Crescent and the Syrian authorities also in that operation."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Damascus.
(XHTV)