BEIRUT, March 19 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Minister for the Displaced Saleh Gharib said Tuesday Syrian refugees in Lebanon will return to their homeland "soon," local media reported.

"We will help return of Syrian refugees to Syria soon and we have no information about the attempt of new refugees to move to Lebanon," Gharib was quoted as saying by Elnashra, an online independent newspaper.

Gharib's remarks came following comments by the leader of the Tawhid Party Wiam Wahhab saying that refugees will not go back to Syria but new ones will move to Lebanon, Turkey and Europe.

Wahhab attributed the attempt of new refugees to enter Lebanon to the economic slowdown in Syria.

Elnashra quoted sources involved in the matter as saying that Lebanon's general security is taking all the necessary measures to prevent Syrian refugees from illegally entering Lebanon.

"There is also a political consensus in Lebanon about the need to stop hosting new Syrian refugees," the sources said.

The sources added that economic slowdown in Syria is not a reason for more refugees to come to Lebanon.

Lebanon is hosting 976,000 registered Syrian refugees according to the UN data, while the government estimates the true number of Syrian refugees in the country at 1.5 million.

Lebanese officials have been negotiating with the international community the need to help Syrian refugees return home. Enditem

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