USAID contributes to UNRWA emergency apeal for Nahr el-Bared refugee camp and surrounding Lebanese communities – USAID press release/Non-UN document

Most recent disaster declaration: humanitarian emergency

From late May through early September 2007, fighting between Government of Lebanon forces and armed militias in the Nahr al Bared Palestinian refugee camp, outside the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, killed 340 military forces, militia members, and civilians, and displaced thousands of camp residents. The conflict also resulted in considerable human, social, and economic costs for Lebanese citizens living in the surrounding neighborhoods, including the destruction of homes, businesses, and general infrastructure in the Muhammara, Bebine, and Aabdeh municipalities. On September 10, the U.N Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) issued a flash appeal for $55 million to assist affected Palestinian refugee families.

On September 7, U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman declared the situation in northern Lebanon a humanitarian emergency. In response, USAID/OFDA provided $100,000 through USAID/Lebanon to address the immediate needs of Lebanese communities in the areas surrounding Nahr el Bared. These communities were affected during the conflict but were not covered under UNRWA's appeal.