Lebanon investigates claims Syrian children are being sold

Lebanon is investigating media claims that four Syrian children have been sold in Beirut, Minister of Interior Nohad El Machnouk said.

US journalist Franklin Lamb claimed in an article published in the Information Clearing House and titled “I bought four Syrian children” that he had purchased four Syrian children; two girls aged five, a one-year-old baby boy and his eight-year-old brother in order to save them from a Syrian woman who was trying to sell them near Ramlet Al-Baida beach in Beirut.

According to Lamb: “The woman said she was afraid to register with the UNHCR because she is an illegal and has no ID” and is no longer able to care for them.

Lamb said the woman wanted the money to make the journey to Turkey and then to Greece.

He explained that the children remained with him for several days and that during that period he tried to contact several authorities to provide accommodation for them but he has not received any response in this regard. He did not disclose the final whereabouts of the children.

Founder and Executive Director of Badael Alternatives, Zeina Allouche, criticised Lamb’s actions saying the journalist has been involved in human trafficking.