BEIRUT

More than 87,000 Syrian refugees have returned to their country since July, Lebanese authorities said Friday.

In a statement, Lebanon’s General Security Directorate said approximately 80,000 refugees had voluntarily returned to Syria -- with the Security Directorate’s help -- within the last three months alone.

Another 7,670 Syrians, the statement added, were repatriated over the same period in coordination with the Damascus regime.

Beirut estimates the number of Syrian refugees still in the country at some 1.5 million, although the UN puts the number at less than a million.