SHAFAQNA- The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, said a large fire had broken out in a Syrian refugee camp in northern Lebanon in the Miniyeh region Saturday night. “The fire has spread to all the tented shelters” – made of plastic sheeting and wood – UNHCR spokesman Khaled Kabbara told AFP. The camp housed about 75 families, he said.
The National News Agency reported that the fire followed an “altercation” between a member of a Lebanese family and “Syrian workers”. Other youths from the Lebanese family then “set fire to some of the refugees’ tents”, the NNA added. A security source told AFP shots were heard, saying the fight in the Bhanine area was set off when Syrian workers demanded a wage which their employers refused to pay. However, the same source said later that initial inquiries found the dispute could have been sparked by the harassment of a Syrian woman, according to AlJazeera.