Syria wants its citizens in Lebanon to return, help rebuild

BEIRUT – Syria's ambassador to Lebanon says his country wants Syrian refugees in its tiny neighbor to return home to help in reconstruction of the war-torn country.

Ali Abdul-Karim Ali made his comments Monday after handing a letter to caretaker Foreign Minister Giban Bassil from his Syrian counterpart related to Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

The letter by the Syrian foreign minister to Bassil came after the Lebanese official expressed concerns over a 2018 property law, known as Law 10, that some human rights groups say empowers authorities to confiscate property without compensating the owners or giving them an opportunity to appeal.

Bassil expressed fears that this would make many of the Syrians living in Lebanon stay here.

Lebanon is home to some 1.2 million refugees or a quarter of the country's population.