Migration agency chief warns that even more Syrians will leave Lebanon as donors cut back on aid

BRUSSELS (AP) — The head of the International Organization for Migration is warning that the number of Syrian refugees leaving Lebanon is likely to keep rising as donors cut back on aid. Pressure is building as the Mediterranean island of Cyprus is seeing an increase in the number of migrants arriving. The IOM director general tells the AP that around 3,000 Syrians have left Lebanon since January. This compares to 4,500 for the whole of last year. Many are going to Cyprus. Governments are cutting aid to agencies for their work with Syrian refugees more than a decade after the country’s civil war began.