BEIRUT: The United Nations Refugee Agency Friday disputed recent media reports that had suggested hundreds of Syrians have fled to Lebanon over the past few days.

The latest UNCHR update on the refugee situation in Lebanon says that only 13 families have been identified as having recently fled from Syria, with 150 displaced people having arrived over the last two weeks.

The report states that there are currently around 2,300 Syrian refugees in Lebanon, compared to 5,000 in May.

Thousands of Syrians have fled to neighboring countries – Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey – since a state crackdown began in mid-March, in response to anti-government protests.

Around 1,400 are thought to have been killed by President Bashar Assad’s security forces.

Together with the Higher Relief Committee, the U.N. agency has collected extensive population data in the north Lebanon border villages of Wadi Khaled and Talbireh, speaking to local leaders and community members.

It says that registration data will continue to change as “newly displaced persons arrive, some return and others move between different locations within Lebanon.”

The UNHCR also stated that it is continuing to raise with the Lebanese government the issue of permits for Syrian refugees.

The government had earlier stated that it would issue three-month permits for Syrians displaced to Lebanon, although the UNHCR notes that “full implementation of this policy has not yet occurred.”

Unlike on the Turkish border, there are no refugee camps on the Lebanese side. Displaced Syrians are staying, for the most part, with local host families or in community centers.

There are currently 728 persons living in poor conditions; 530 persons not hosted by the local community and 1,500 at risk of no longer being hosted by the local community, according to the report.

UNHCR has identified eight out-of-use schools as potential short-term shelter sites. In the longer term, and “only in the event of a mass influx,” sites have been mapped for tented camps in both Wadi Khaled and Talbireh.

The report adds that 4,192 mattresses, 1,738 food kits and 460 diapers, among other necessities, have been distributed since the refugees began entering Lebanon. They have been provided by various NGOs, aside from the U.N.

The report also notes the assurance from the Lebanese government that Syrians entering the country will not be arrested or detained for illegal entry or stay.