Over 50,000 Syrians return home from neighboring countries over last 3 weeks: UN

ISTANBUL

The UN said on Thursday that the number of refugees returning to Syria from neighboring countries in the three weeks following the fall of the Assad regime has exceeded 50,000.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi shared on X that the number of Syrian refugees returning to their homes is "slowly increasing."

"Material conditions inside Syria remain dire - more humanitarian and recovery assistance must be delivered to returnees and all those in need," Grandi said.

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

The takeover came after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) fighters captured key cities in a lightning offensive that lasted less than two weeks.