“It is impossible to keep receiving huge numbers of displaced Syrians,” Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Friday, noting that “the international community and the United Nations should work on their return to their villages in Syria which are safe now.”

Aoun also told the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme that “the Lebanese people’s will in addressing challenges is unwavering” and that “the international community should help in finding solutions to the successive crises in our country.”

In turn, the Executive Director lauded the President’s handling of the situation in Lebanon, adding that “work is underway to provide all possible aid so that Lebanon will be able to overcome the tough circumstances.”

Lebanon hosts more than a million Syrian refugees who have fled their homes since the beginning of the Syrian conflict in 2011.

Many Lebanese worry refugees threaten the country’s security and burden its sluggish economy, which has been hard-hit by Syria’s war. Others say refugees take jobs or strain Lebanon’s already dysfunctional public services.