UN says over 200,000 Syrian refugees return to homeland from Lebanon

BEIRUT – More than 200,000 Syrian refugees have returned to their homeland from neighbouring Lebanon in 2025, following the fall of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad, a UN official told AFP.

The Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011 with Dr Assad’s brutal repression of anti-government protests, displacing half of the population internally or abroad.

But the

Dec 8 ouster of the former Syrian president

at the hands of Islamist forces sparked hopes of return.

The Lebanese authorities recently introduced a plan offering US$100 (S$129) in aid and exemptions from fines for refugees leaving the country, provided they pledge not to return as asylum seekers.

Ms Kelly Clements, deputy high commissioner at the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), said: “Since the beginning of this year, we’re looking at about 200,000 Syrians that have gone back, most of them on their own.”

“That number is increasing very quickly,” she told AFP in an interview.

While many Syrians are heading back to Hama, Homs and Aleppo, most refugees remain in Lebanon where humanitarian needs remain high amid shrinking aid budgets.

Ms Clements stressed the UNHCR was not encouraging returns, describing it as “an individual choice for each family to make”.

The Lebanese authorities estimate that the country hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees. The UN says it has registered more than 755,000.

UNHCR support for returnees includes small-scale housing repairs, cash assistance and core relief items, though more intensive reconstruction is beyond the agency’s capacity.

About 80 per cent of Syrian housing was damaged during the civil war, with one in three families needing housing support, according to Ms Clement.

The majority of Syrians who fled the 14-year civil war to Lebanon remain there, she noted, with needs remaining high as humanitarian aid decreases.

“You see the Lebanon budget decreasing, you see the Syrian budget increasing,” she said, pointing out however that the UNHCR’s 2025 plan only reached a fifth of its needed funds.

The agency is unable to determine whether Syria as a whole was safe to return to, she said, as parts of Syria were “safe and peaceful” while other parts were “less secure”.

According to the UN, more than two million Syrian refugees and internally displaced people returned to their areas of origin since the

Islamist-led offensive toppled Dr Assad

.

However, around 13.5 million Syrians remain displaced internally or abroad.

The new authorities are dealing with a devastated economy and destroyed infrastructure, with the majority of citizens living below the poverty line, according to the UN. AFP