A few thousand Syrian nationals lined up Tuesday to cross into their country to vote, a paltry amount compared to last week's fanfare outside the Syrian Embassy in Beirut.
By the end of the day, General Security sources estimated that a total 10,000 Syrians had crossed over to vote, with the majority, 8,000, entering from the Masnaa border crossing in the Bekaa valley, and the remaining from Arida, Abu Diyeh and Bikaya in north Lebanon. The low turnout comes after the Lebanese government threatened to revoke the refugee status of Syrians who return to their country.
"Our main concern is to go back to our country, our hope is for the president to end this crisis," said Leila, who came from Labweh in the Bekaa Valley to vote.
A young Syrian man who wished to remain anonymous said he was voting for Hassan al-Nouri, one of two presidential candidates running against Assad.
However, numerous Syrian refugees were able to cross illegally into Syria in order to avoid official entry points.
...