The burden of scarce opportunities: the social stability context in Central and West Bekaa, conflict analysis report, March 2017

This report introduces the conflict context in the Central Bekaa region. The area is of geostrategic importance as it contains the main border crossing to Syria and the Damascus highway, the international route from Beirut to Damascus. It is also home to around a quarter of all Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The area which once lived off services and trade through the border crossing and the Highway, agriculture, and agro-food industries, has been hit hard by the Syrian crisis and is burdened by the sharp decrease in economic opportunities and the doubling of its population.