Children of conflict: Refugees relive anguish as Israeli airstrikes spark exodus from Lebanon

Israeli air attacks across Lebanon have forced tens of thousands of refugees to flee to Syria. Many had previously escaped to Lebanon from Syria during the war, while others are descendants of those who fled Israeli territories decades ago.

Sputnik visited a refugee center in Aleppo, which is mainly housing families with children. Ten-year-old Raghd al-Ahmad, born in Lebanon to Syrian parents who fled the war in Aleppo, shared her story: "We were asleep when the air raids started." After strikes in Beirut, her family decided to return to Syria as the neighborhood was heavily bombed, with the attacks continuing through the night.

Eight-year-old Khaled, from a Palestinian refugee family, recounted how they fled a Palestinian camp for Beirut, only to encounter bombing there as well. Nur, who arrived from Beqaa with her mother and sisters, dreams of returning home, going back to school, and reuniting with her friends.

The UN reports that over half a million people have fled from Lebanon to Syria since the escalation of Israeli attacks.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

The Abkhazian administration has announced plans to revoke the ratification of an investment agreement with Russia to stabilize unrest after protesters stormed the parliament building.

Demonstrators used a truck to breach fences, hurled objects at security forces, and later targeted the presidential administration. Security forces responded with smoke grenades.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Main reasons behind opposition discontent and the ongoing protests in Abkhazia:

▪️ The opposition believes that after the ratification of the investment agreement with Russia, Russian companies will begin building apartments in Abkhazia, driving up housing prices.

▪️ They also argue that the construction of apartments could pose a risk to the country’s economy and harm small and medium-sized businesses.

▪️ Meanwhile, Russian State Duma member Konstantin Zatulin said that building and selling apartments to Russians would be an act of justice. According to him, most Abkhazians hold Russian citizenship and have equal rights in Russia, whereas Russians in Abkhazia are unfairly prohibited from buying property.

Protesters' demands:

▪️ Remove the ratification of the investment agreement with Russia from the parliamentary agenda or vote against it.

▪️ Postpone ratification until the presidential elections expected in spring, arguing it should be part of candidates' election platforms.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Based Russian flags go viral on X

A US X user praised his country’s flag with the bold claim that "I'm sorry, but America has the best flag. All the others are just worse."

But other users were quick to disagree. The most popular alternative suggestions were the flag of the Russian town of Zheleznogorsk in Krasnoyarsk Krai, depicting a bear tearing apart an atom, and that of the Sretensky District in Zabaykalsky Krai, featuring a manul or Pallas’s cat. Those two flags received about 97,000 and 38,000 likes each, leaving the Stars and Stripes in the dust.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt