BEIRUT: Grand Mufti Mohammad Rashid Qabbani said Lebanon should help Syrian refugees as much as it can and launched fiery statements against the Assad regime in statements Thursday.

“I strongly condemn anyone who says we should find a way to deport the Syrian refugees out of Lebanon ... The Syrian and Lebanese people are one and we should provide Syrian refugees with all possible assistance,” said the Mufti in a press conference in which he launched an aid campaign for the Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

The campaign, launched from Dar al-Fatwa under the title “You should love those who come to you,” was funded by Kuwaitis, Saudis and Lebanese.

The UNHCR is in touch with more than 200,000 Syrian refugees who have fled the violence in their neighboring country since the uprising against the Assad regime begun in March 2011.

The influx of refugees to the country has provoked concern among some Lebanese officials, notably Energy and Water Minister Lebanon Gebran Bassil, who has said the country should set limits on the newcomers.

Qabbani also launched fiery statements against the Assad regime, saluting the “heroic” Syrian people who he said would eventually win the battle.

“The regime in Syria is a tyrant one... We have never witnessed a regime killing its own people,” said the mufti.

“You will see with your own eyes the fate of oppressors in Syria and their supporters,” he added.