Around 700 Syrian refugees fled from Deir El Ahmar in Bekaa after they attacked members of Civil Defense in the town a week earlier, said Jean Fakhry, head of the Deir al-Ahmar Municipalities Union, on Tuesday, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
Fakhry told Xinhua that civil defense members came to Deir El Ahmar last Wednesday to extinguish a fire that broke out in one of the town's camps, which caused heavy dust prompting Syrian refugees to complain about it by screaming and throwing stones at the civil defense's vehicle.
Fakhry explained that civil defense members had to move fast with their vehicles to put off the fire which caused all the dust but they did not do it on purpose.
"Syrian refugees were very angry that they ended up beating two members of the civil defense," Fakhry said.
Fakhry noted that the refugees fled from Deir El Ahmar out of fear of potential repercussions from locals.
"We did not oblige anyone to leave. Refugees packed their stuff and fled out of fear that the Lebanese in the area would react to their attack against civil defense members," Fakhry explained.
Fakhry said that refugees are prevented from returning to the camp in Deir El Ahmar.
"Around 90 percent of these refugees work in agriculture with Lebanese farmers residing close to Deir El Ahmar; so they have moved to stay with these farmers," he said.
Refugees' attack against civil defense members fueled outrage among officials in the area, prompting them to issue a decision preventing refugees from returning to the area.