Rights group alleges Lebanon and Cyprus violated refugees’ human rights and EU funds paid for it

European aid sent to Lebanon in an attempt to regulate migration by sea is funding practices that violate human rights, according to a global watchdog report published Wednesday.

As part of a policy to contain migration, authorities in Cyprus have physically pushed Syrian refugees back to Lebanon, and Lebanese security agencies have deported them, the Human Rights Watch report said.

The report, based on interviews with 16 Syrians who tried to leave Lebanon via smuggler boats, found that 15 of them "suffered human rights violations at the hands of Lebanese and/or Cypriot authorities."

Rights groups have frequently criticized the tactics of authorities in both Lebanon and Cyprus in dealing with would-be migrants and asylum seekers. Officials from the two countries deny violating any laws but say they are overwhelmed by the migration they are facing.