World Bank president warns Lebanon reaching 'breaking point' with refugees, urges donors help

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, left, waves as he stands next to Syrian refugee students, at a Lebanese public school, in Burj Hammoud area, east Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2014. Kim is on an official visit to Lebanon aimed at supporting the tiny Arab country which is hosting over a million Syrian refugees. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (The Associated Press)

prev next

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, center, sits in a classroom with Syrian refugee students, at a Lebanese public school, in Burj Hammoud area, east Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2014. Kim is on an official visit to Lebanon aimed at supporting the tiny Arab country which is hosting over a million Syrian refugees. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (The Associated Press)

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, center, sits in a classroom with Syrian refugee students at a Lebanese public school, in the Burj Hammoud area of east Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, June 3, 2014. Kim is on an official visit to Lebanon aimed at supporting the tiny Arab country which is hosting over a million Syrian refugees. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) (The Associated Press)

BEIRUT – The president of the World Bank says Lebanon is reaching "breaking point" in terms of its ability to deal with the massive influx of Syrian refugees.

Speaking in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press after visiting with Syrian refugee students at a public school east of Beirut, Jim Yong Kim urged international donors to increase their financial support to the tiny Arab country.

Lebanon, home to 4.5 million people, is struggling to cope with the presence of more than a million refugees in Syria.

Kim said: "The tensions here are very high." He warned that many Lebanese feel they have been pushed into poverty because of the refugees.

Kim's visit is the first by a World Bank president to Lebanon in 14 years.