you've reached a subscriber-only article. Sign up now and access the full breadth of The Daily Star content in minutes.

subscribe now unrestricted access 1 month...$12 | 3 months...$30 | 6 months...$55 | 1 year...$99 Existing users can login here or register for a new account.</s>The bodies of nine Syrian refugees who crossed into Lebanon have been found frozen in a mountainous area near the border with Syria, according to the Lebanese army.

The military said in a statement that the bodies were found on a people-smuggling route in the early hours of Friday after a snowstorm hit the Masnaa area, where Lebanon's largest official border crossing with Syria is located.

"The army saved six other displaced Syrians, one of whom died later in a hospital from frostbite," the statement added, raising the death toll to 10.

"The bodies were taken to the hospitals in the area, and the army continues to search for other displaced people trapped in the snow, in order to evacuate them and provide medical treatment for them."

The identities of the Syrian refugees were not immediately known. According to some reports, at least one child was found among the bodies.

Two other Syrian nationals were arrested and charged with people-smuggling, the army added.

'We are deprived of everything'

Temperatures dropped on Friday as winter storms battered the Lebanon-Syria border, making the lives of the more than 357,000 Syrian refugees living in makeshift tents in the Bekaa Valley, some 60km north of Masnaa, even more difficult.

Reporting from the region, Al Jazeera's correspondent Zeina Khodr said that Syrian refugees "face many challenges during the winter months".

"They live in tents that are made out of plastic sheeting, which does little to protect them from the cold and the rain," she said.

Hammadi Chelbi, a Syrian refugee who has been living in Bekaa Valley after he fled the Syrian conflict in its first year, told Al Jazeera that he and his family are living in misery.

"We have nothing but pain, sickness and suffering," he said. "We are deprived of everything."

There are one million registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon, although government officials estimate that the number is closer to 1.5 million.

The UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) says it is not getting the money it needs to help Syrian refugees in Lebanon through another harsh winter.

Last year, it requested $228m but received less than 60 percent of that, prompting it to warn that life in the camps was getting worse.</s>Syrians fleeing war in their country freeze to death when an icy storm hits a smuggling route in the mountains near a border post with Syria as they cross into Lebanon.

The Lebanese Army retrieves the body of a Syrian near the Masnaa border crossing. (Credit: ABC licensed)

Nine Syrians froze to death crossing into Lebanon when an icy storm hit a smuggling route in the mountains near a border post with Syria.

The Lebanese Army said in a statement on Friday it rescued six others from near the Masnaa border crossing, one of whom later died in hospital.

The army arrested two Syrians on smuggling charges and is still searching for others lost in the snow.

Two children were among the nine refugees who died.

Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan have now all closed their border crossings to Syrian refugees.

Syrians wishing to enter Lebanon must prove to Lebanese authorities they have reason to be in Lebanon, such as property ownership, an embassy appointment, or a residency permit.

For many Syrians fleeing war in their country, securing residency or work permits is impossible.

Many are in Lebanon illegally and face arrest if discovered.

Lebanon took in around 1.5 million Syrian refugees at the height of Syria's conflict, now in its seventh year.</s>BEIRUT - Nine Syrians froze to death crossing into Lebanon when an icy storm hit a smuggling route in the mountains near a border post with Syria, the Lebanese Army said on Friday.



The army rescued six others from near the Masnaa border crossing, one of whom later died in the hospital, an army statement said.



The army arrested two Syrians on smuggling charges and is still searching for others lost in the snow, it added.



Syrians wishing to enter Lebanon must prove to Lebanese authorities they have reason to be in Lebanon, such as property ownership, an embassy appointment or a residency permit.



For many Syrians fleeing war in their country, securing residency or work permits is impossible. Many are in Lebanon illegally and face arrest if discovered.



Lebanon took in around 1.5 million Syrian refugees at the height of Syria's conflict, now in its seventh year.</s>The death toll of Syrian refugees who froze to death due to a snowstorm in eastern Lebanon has risen to 12, according to Lebanese Civil Defense sources.

Three more bodies were found on Saturday, taking to the death toll to 12, the sources said.

According to the sources, three children were among the victims, who lost their lives as they attempted to cross into Lebanon from neighboring Syria.

Three more refugees were rescued by Lebanese civil defense teams, the sources said.

On Friday, the Lebanese army said nine refugees had frozen to death along Lebanese-Syria border due to harsh weather.

The severe weather is expected to become sunny on Saturday and Sunday, according to Lebanese metrological agency.

Several parts of Lebanon -- including the Beqaa Valley, which is home to thousands of Syrian refugees -- have been hit recently with extremely cold weather and heavy snowfall.

Last month, the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) said the number of registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon had fallen to about 998,000 from a previous 1.5 million.</s>The number of Syrians who have died trying to flee their war-torn country into neighbouring Lebanon during a snowstorm has risen to at least 13, the United Nations said Saturday.

A group of Syrians, including children, had tried to enter neighbouring Lebanon late on Thursday through a smuggling route but were caught in a fierce storm.

The Lebanese army and civil defence said on Friday they had retrieved the bodies of 10 Syrians, including two children and six women.

But the toll has since increased.

Lisa Abou Khaled, a spokeswoman for the UN's refugee agency, said at least 13 Syrians were confirmed to have died in the incident.

"The victims were trying to cross an arduous and rugged passage in freezing temperatures," the UNHCR said in a statement.

"Others in the group, including a pregnant woman, were discovered in time and assisted by nearby residents and the Lebanese Armed Forces and Civil Defence to reach hospitals before they froze to death."

A Lebanese army source told AFP on Saturday that the toll had reached 14.

"The army retrieved a total of 12 bodies on Friday, and one person died at the hospital. Another body was found on Saturday, bringing the total to 14," the source said.

Lebanon, a country of four million, hosts just under a million Syrians who have sought refuge from the war raging in their neighbouring homeland since 2011.

Many live in informal tented settlements in the country's east and struggle to stay warm in the winter.

The UN's children's agency UNICEF said on Saturday it was distributing blankets, warm clothes and heating fuel.

"More children could be among the dead as residents in the area and the Lebanese authorities continue to look for people who are reportedly trapped in the mountainous in freezing temperatures and snow," a UNICEF statement said.

"The brutal wars have to stop and we all need to step up our generosity and assistance for the most affected children. We have no excuse. We cannot continue failing children!"

In 2015, Lebanese authorities introduced new restrictions to curb the number of Syrians entering the country.

Lebanon and Syria share a rocky 330-kilometre (205 mile) border with no official demarcation at several points.</s>Nine Syrians freeze to death while crossing to Lebanon

Nine Syrians froze to death crossing into Lebanon when an icy storm hit a smuggling route in the mountains near a border post with Syria.

The Lebanese Army said in a statement on Friday it rescued six others from near the Masnaa border crossing, one of whom later died in hospital.

The army arrested two Syrians on smuggling charges and is still searching for others lost in the snow.

Two children were among the nine refugees who died.

Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan have now all closed their border crossings to Syrian refugees.

Syrians wishing to enter Lebanon must prove to Lebanese authorities they have reason to be in Lebanon, such as property ownership, an embassy appointment, or a residency permit.

For many Syrians fleeing war in their country, securing residency or work permits is impossible.

Many are in Lebanon illegally and face arrest if discovered.

Lebanon took in around 1.5 million Syrian refugees at the height of Syria's conflict, now in its seventh year.</s>Lebanon’s army says 10 Syrians froze to death while trying to cross into the country via a dangerous smuggling route through the mountains.

Military officials say the Syrians, including two children and six women, were caught in a strong snowstorm while trying to cross the mountainous frontier between the two nations.

An army statement said troops received a tip Friday morning that the group of refugees had gotten stuck in the snowstorm. It said an army patrol found the bodies of nine refugees who had died from the cold and rescued six other people near the Masnaa border crossing. It said one of those rescued later died from frostbite.

The army said troops were still searching for others who might have been lost in the snow.

It said two Syrians had been arrested on smuggling charges. Lebanon and Syria share a border that extends for 330 kilometers, and the smuggling routes between the countries tend to be in areas of rougher terrain.

Syrian refugees began pouring into Lebanon after the start of Syria's civil war in 2011. Lebanon took in at least a million refugees at the height of the conflict, but in 2015 the Lebanese government put in place new restrictions in order to curb the number of refugees entering the country.

Many of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon live in informal tent settlements in the east of the country and struggle to stay warm in the winter.</s>A rainbow is seen over downtown Beirut, Lebanon, on Wednesday (Reuters photo)

BEIRUT — Lebanon thwarted extremist plans to attack places of worship and government buildings over the holidays after gaining rare access to a Daesh terror group operative, the interior minister said on Friday.

Nuhad Mashnuq said at a press conference that an elite unit in Lebanon's Internal Security Forces (ISF) had arrested an Iraqi Daesh commander in Beirut last June.

The commander, known as Abu Jaafar Al Iraqi, had been tasked by the Daesh leadership to establish an extremist network in Lebanon, according to information presented at the briefing.

This network would not only carry out attacks in Lebanon, but could have potentially hosted top Daesh officials fleeing Iraq and Syria.

Full details of the operation and the current whereabouts of Abu Jaafar were not revealed.

But Mashnuq said that for five months after the Iraqi commander's arrest the ISF kept tabs on him through a mysterious "volunteer", who had gained his trust and rented a home for him that was bugged by Lebanese authorities.

"This is one of those rare operations where you have someone this important in the terrorist organisation, and you're able to use him for five months to find out about the plans supposed to happen during the holidays, against places of worship and government buildings," Mashnuq told reporters.

"The nature of this operation, as we explained, is unprecedented in the Arab world," he claimed.

Daesh’s now-defunct "caliphate" spread across swathes of Iraq and Syria but never officially included territory inside Lebanon.

Extremists from Daesh were entrenched along the Lebanese-Syrian border for several years however and claimed several deadly attacks in Lebanon.

According to a film shown at Friday's briefing, Lebanese authorities had worked since the end of 2016 to lure Abu Jaafar to Lebanon with the help of Arab and international authorities.

An intermediary, trained in Turkey and cooperating with the ISF, rented out an apartment for Abu Jaafar that was being surveilled and met with him there several times.

Audio and video clips from the apartment were aired during the press conference.

Abu Jaafar allegedly asked Daesh leaders in Iraq and Syria for help in planning attacks on New Year's Eve in Lebanon, and they said they may be able to provide suicide belts and automatic weapons.

He was ultimately unable to pull together an operation, the clip said.

The film mentioned one Lebanese Daesh member who had been arrested as part of the year-long operation. The minister did not mention any other arrests nor did he elaborate on the intelligence gained.</s>Three children were among the dead, NNA said.

The Lebanese Civil Defense and the Lebanese army took the bodies from the spot where they were found -- on a smuggling route in al-Masnaa area -- to a hospital.

Three people who were discovered near the bodies were transported for urgent medical treatment, state news said.

An army statement gave a different toll of nine bodies and said the military saved five Syrians. Another person died later in a hospital from frostbite, the army said.
The bodies of ten Syrian men are found after a snowstorm on the Lebanon–Syria border. The Lebanese Army says they tried to enter Lebanon illegally. Two presumed people smugglers are arrested.