Why the Lebanon crisis is good business for Syrian military

The journey is long and difficult and, according to those who have made it, increasingly expensive.

It took Syrian man Khaled Massoud and his family seven days and $1,300 to find some measure of safety in northern Syria, as they fled the Israeli bombing campaign in Lebanon. His family of six, plus his daughter's family, are now in a refugee camp near Maarat Misrin, north of Idlib, in an area controlled by anti-government opposition forces.

Massoud is one of many. This week, the head of the United Nations refugee agency, Filippo Grandi, said at least 220,000 people had crossed from Lebanon into Syria, following the Israeli bombardment, and that around 80% of those were Syrians. Lebanese authorities suggest as many as 400,000 people have gone to Syria. 

For Syrians returning to their own country, crossing the border from neighboring Lebanon is no simple matter. Since 2011, Syria has seen civil war between the government of dictator Bashar Assad and anti-government forces. Anybody who fled the country during the war is viewed with suspicion, seen as a traitor to the Assad regime. Syrian men who return may be detained, tortured, forcibly conscripted into the Syrian army, or killed, say human rights organizations, who regularly document such cases.

So, for many Syrians, a safer option is heading toward areas still controlled by anti-government opposition groups. Almost everyone who comes here takes rural roads between villages. And to get to the countryside around Idlib, an area controlled by the political and military organization Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), most travelers have to pass through three different zones controlled by three different security forces: those of the Syrian government, of Turkish-allied forces and then Kurdish security forces.

Even though the displaced Syrians travel on backroads, there are still security checkpoints. And at each checkpoint, they are asked for money in order to pass. That's why the journey cost Massoud's family $1,300 (around €1,184).

Making money out of misery

As Israel continues to bombard Lebanon, this is becoming a lucrative business.

"Every checkpoint takes what it wants," says Hadi Othman, a 20-year-old Syrian who has also just made the journey back to Idlib. "It is more like a business, and how much they ask for depends on their mood."

Othman and others told DW people pay somewhere between $300 and $600 (between around €270 and €546) to get back to opposition-held areas.

A local in the area with knowledge of how the system works told DW that different branches of the Syrian military are cooperating with other militias, including the Syrian-Kurdish forces, in the area to facilitate such payments. The local could only speak anonymously for fear of retribution because they believe that the Syrian Army's elite 4th Armoured Division, headed by the Syrian leader's brother, Maher Assad, was also involved, especially with arrivals at the Lebanese border.

Returning Syrians are brought to a town square between the checkpoints, the source said. They stay there until a larger group has been assembled and all have paid several hundred dollars, then they travel onwards. That's part of the reason why the journey takes so long. The source believes that the money is then shared between the various groups that oversee the roads into the opposition-held area. DW was unable to independently verify this. 

'Walking dollar bills'

Often the displaced Syrians are insulted, assaulted or even arrested, the source added, explaining that usually if people pay they can travel. Still, earlier this week, independent Syrian media outlet, Al Jumhuriya, reported that there had been at least 40 arrests at a Damascus bus station of young men returning from Lebanon.

"The people are scared, tired and looking for a place to stay. If the war in Lebanon had not been worse than the situation in Syria, they would have stayed there — despite the racism," the source said. "Now they are seen as walking dollar bills. The people charging them money accuse them of being traitors and say they are rich."

According to the local council in Jarablus, a city that separates regime and opposition areas north of Aleppo, about 470 families - comprising about 2,500 people - and 200 men, have arrived in opposition-held territories already. Many more are on their way.

If the average amounts that travellers say they are paying are correct, then the various security forces may already have extorted over a million dollars from displaced Syrians coming from Lebanon.

The checkpoint fees are a lot of money for many of the Syrians, who were displaced to Lebanon due to civil war. There, 90% of Syrians live in poverty and those who earned money — despite Lebanese laws that say they can't legally work — made about $95 a month in casual jobs, according to the UN.

Othman says he had been living in Lebanon since 2012, after fleeing his hometown of Binnish, in this part of northwestern Syria. "But life has been very difficult in Lebanon," he told DW. "The dollar is expensive and economic conditions were rubbish. We lived on minimum wages and we spent everything we earned."

At the Aoun al-Dadat crossing, which connects the opposition-controlled city of Jarablus and the city of Manbij, controlled by Kurdish forces, Othman says the checkpoint fee being charged was $10.

"But there we held a demonstration, and nobody paid," he recounts, explaining how the angry crowds protested and then broke through the borders without paying the fee.

"We thank God that we've made it back here," Othman said. "We're tired but the important thing is that we reached our village here and now we will stay in our own house."

Edited by: Andreas Illmer