Beirut (INA) – The International Monetary Fund called on the international community to increase its aid to Lebanon, which is facing an unprecedented influx of Syrian refugees, which has weakened its economy. The Fund said in a statement issued at the end of a visit by an international mission to Beirut that the crisis in Syria has led to an unprecedented influx of refugees, whose number is currently estimated at a quarter of the population, and that the security situation has been severely affected and local communities exhausted. He added: Unemployment in Lebanon has doubled as a result of this crisis and now affects about 20 percent of the workforce, noting that the economic growth rate of 2 percent is much lower than it was before the outbreak of the crisis in Syria. The fund pointed out that the aid that Lebanon received from the international community during the past year, amounting to about 800 million dollars, is insufficient. ((I finish))
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