Beirut, Feb 1 (IANS): The Lebanese army has said in a statement that it foiled the attempt by around 900 Syrian nationals to enter Lebanon through illegal land crossings in January.

According to the statement on Wednesday, over the past months, the army succeeded in preventing the illegal entry of thousands of Syrians into Lebanon, as part of Lebanon's efforts to control Syrian refugees' presence on its soil since the country is facing its worst socio-economic crisis in decades and can no longer meet the growing needs of refugees.

On Tuesday, Lebanese Minister of the Displaced, Issam Charafeddine, said the country's security agencies, in cooperation with Syrian authorities, had in recent months prevented 90 per cent of displaced Syrians from crossing the northern border illegally into Lebanon, Xinhua news agency reported.

Lebanon remains the country hosting the largest number of refugees per capita, with an estimated 1.5 to 2 million Syrian refugees living in the country.