![A Syrian refugee kisses a relative as she sits inside a vehicle in the Lebanese eastern border town of Arsal headed towards the Syrian region of al-Qalamoun on July 12th. [Stringer/AFP]](/cnmi_am/images/2017/07/14/8778-Lebanon-Syrian-refugees-700_496.webp)
The second batch of Syrian refugees left Lebanon's Arsal to the Syrian area of Assal al-Ward in western Qalamoun on Wednesday (July 12th) as debate rages in Lebanon on how to handle the return of Syrian refugees.
The number of returnees, initially set at 300, dropped to 100 after some Syrian families decided to stay behind "for personal reasons", local media reported.
A convoy of 23 pick-ups, tractors and vehicles carrying the refugees was escorted by Lebanese army units to the army's last post on the Syria border.
They then crossed the area controlled by Hizbullah via recently-created corridors all the way to west al-Qalamoun.
A first batch of 53 Syrian families had in early June left Arsal for Syria.
Refugees are returning to Syria amid a rising debate in Beirut about what role the Lebanese government should play in returning them to safe areas in their country.
Current debate is centered on whether this should be done via talks with the Syrian regime, as suggested by Hizbullah and the March 8th coalition, or in co-ordination with the UN, as suggested by Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri and March 14th.
"Lebanon is facing a disaster that must be dealt with," said MP Yassin Jabir, from the Development and Liberation Bloc led by Amal Movement.
It is in Lebanon's national interest to find a solution, he told Al-Mashareq.
"For one thing, there are now hundreds of thousands of Syrian births which we have to deal with," he said, adding that negotiations are needed to resolve the refugee problem in Lebanon.
Refugee camps in Arsal, which number about 117 camps, are the largest concentration of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, hosting some 100,000 refugees, mostly from al-Qalamoun and Homs.
