France proposes donor conference to aid refugees

French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed the convening of an international donor conference focused on refugees in Lebanon.

Lebanon needs help to cope with the influx of 1.2 million refugees, most of them from Syria, Emmanuel Macron said on Friday after a meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Efe news reported.

Accommodating that many refugees represents a burden for a nation of 6 million people, Macron said, while praising Lebanon's willingness to accept people fleeing war.

There are a total of 9 million refugees in countries bordering Syria, according to Macron, who said the Lebanon donors conference should take place in Paris no later than March 2018.

International organizations such as the United Nations have stressed that Lebanon needs more aid in light of the high number of refugees it is hosting.

--IANS

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