Press Release: Lebanon: Commission increases its aid to the victims of the Nahr Al Bared crisis to €28 million

Benita Ferrero-Waldner, European Commissioner for External Relation and Neighbourhood Policy, will co-chair the International Donor Conference for the Recovery and Reconstruction of the Palestinian Refugee Camp at Nahr Al Bared taking place on 23 June in Vienna. The Commission remains among the biggest donors helping the victims of last year's fighting between Lebanese armed forces and the Islamic movement Fatah al Islam in and around this Palestinian refugee camp in Northern Lebanon. Nahr el Bared has been largely destroyed and remains partly inaccessible almost one year after the cessation of hostilities. Approximately 31,000 displaced refugees still need international support to meet their basic needs. The Lebanese population living in the direct neighbourhood of the camp suffered also greatly from the military operation. The Commission reacted to this crisis with the mobilisation of several instruments at its disposal: the Commission’s Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO, €13.5 million), the Instrument for Stability (IfS, €6.8 million) and the European Neighbourhood Policy Instrument (ENPI, €8 million).