Over 115,000 Syrian refugees return home after Assad regime’s fall

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported that more than 115,000 Syrian refugees have returned to their home country following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

In a written statement, UNHCR provided details on the developments, noting that since December 8, 2024, individuals have been repatriating from neighboring countries, including Türkiye, Jordan, and Lebanon.

The figures concerning these returns are based on public disclosures by host nations, interactions with migration services in Syria, and border observations conducted by UNHCR and its partners.

Nearly 31,000 returnees from Türkiye in first weeks

Nearly 31,000 Syrians have returned to their homeland since the fall of strongman Bashar al-Assad, Türkiye’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on December 28.

“The number of people who went back is 30,663,” Yerlikaya told TGRT Haber, Turkish news channel, adding that “30 percent” of those returning had been born in Türkiye.

Türkiye, which has hosted nearly three million refugees since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, saw a renewed hope for returns following the fall of Assad.