UN refugee agency says thousands of Syrians returning after fall of Assad regime

GENEVA

The UN refugee agency on Tuesday said that thousands of Syrians are returning to their homeland in the post-Assad era.

"The recent developments are only 10 days old, a tremendous amount of hope and the possibility for peace, and frankly, for the largest displacement crisis we have on planet earth to finally be resolved," Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR director for the Middle East and North Africa, told a UN briefing in Geneva.

Imseis stressed that it also brings "immense challenges" both for Syrians within the country and those who are further away.

"The security situation remains quite unstable and fluid," she said, however, adding: "Thousands of Syrian refugees are returning to the country."

She said the agency reported returns so far from Türkiye, Lebanon and smaller numbers from Jordan.

"But we've also seen outflows as well," she said, noting that such movements include religious minorities and people who may have been somehow linked to the former regime and those movements happened in very immediate hours and days following Dec. 8. The agency has not seen "any significant outflows" since then, she added.

She underlined that it is important to mention that Syria has been devastated by 14 years of civil war, it has over seven million internally displaced and over 90% of the Syrian population living below the poverty line and reliant on some form of humanitarian assistance to survive.

"So while we hope that current developments will eventually bring an end to this crisis, we also have to recognize that a change in the regime doesn't mean that there is an end to the humanitarian crisis already there," the director said. "Syrians inside the country and outside the country still need protection and support."

Recalling the UNHCR's recent update on its position, Imseis said: "No one should be forcibly returned to Syria and that the right of Syrians to maintain access to asylum must be preserved."

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeatedly said that Türkiye -- as one of the main host countries for Syrian refugees -- encourages the "safe and voluntary" return of Syrians.

In a post on X, International Organization for Migration (IOM) chief Amy Pope said that she is in Damascus with a UN delegation "at this key moment in the country's history."

Amy Pope said: "Syrians are looking ahead with hope to the practical realities of rebuilding their country. Syria deserves the full support of the international community, and IOM stands ready to assist."

Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power in Syria since 1963.