UN: Thousands of Lebanese unable to go home

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Tens of thousands of Lebanese are unable to return to their homes two weeks after the cease-fire took hold because they feel too insecure or their houses are destroyed, even though most of the 1 million who fled their home have now gone back, the UN refugee agency said Tuesday. Most of the people unable to go home have returned to the southern part of Lebanon and have been staying with friends and relatives, Jack Redden, spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told The Associated Press. However, in the area of Byblos, north of Beirut, some 2,600 people were still homeless, he said, while in the Kesrouan area there were some 3,400 and in the Metn area some 6,000. Redden said the charity organization Caritas estimated that there were also still 35,000 homeless people in Beirut.