“Aircraft constantly bombard southern Lebanon. Everywhere is hit and destroyed…” Mustafa Mohammed, a Kurd from Afrin in Syria, told Rudaw on Wednesday.
Intensive Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah this week have killed at least 558 people, including children, and injured 1,835 others, the Lebanese health ministry reported on Tuesday.
“We have no place to go. We have fled southern Lebanon by foot. We are poor and we have no money,” Mohammed added, saying people have exploited the situation offering rides to Beirut for $500 or $1,000.
Mohammed said there are hundreds more Kurdish families among the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled to the capital.
Since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, hundreds of thousands of Kurds from Rojava have gone to neighboring countries like Lebanon. Many from Afrin found a temporary safe haven in southern Lebanon, but some are displaced again.
“They hit close to our house. We fled in a rush. There was bombardment. We have taken to the streets and do not know where to go. We have no money nor a vehicle. We sleep on the streets. Some have been wounded or sick,” Evlin Ali said, adding she could only take her backpack whe fleeing.
Mohammed said out of 2,000 Kurdish families living in southern Lebanon only 200 remain.
On Tuesday, Nihad Hassan, a Christian priest from Afrin, told Rudaw around 300 Kurds from Rojava have sought refuge in his church in Beirut.
“They come from many areas such as Kobane, Afrin, and Qamishli,” Hassan said, adding that the families, including many children, are living in just 30 to 40 nearby houses.
The Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah movement has exchanged cross-border fire with Israel since Hamas attacked southern Israel in October last year.
Hussein Omar contributed to this article
