Syrian refugees reach Syria’s Raqqa from Lebanon
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – An official of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) said on Wednesday that seven families of Syrian refugees in Lebanon had reached AANES-held areas and settled in a camp north of Raqqa Governorate, northern Syria.
In 2022, Lebanon announced a plan to return 15,000 Syrian refugees to Syria. They deported the first batch in the Autumn of that same year and included over 100 families through three border crossings with Syria in Homs and Damascus.
Late in April, the AANES expressed its readiness to receive Syrian refugees in Lebanon after Lebanese authorities increasingly deported refugees.
Sheikhmos Ahmad, co-chair of the IDPs and Refugees Affairs Office affiliated with the AANES, said that seven families of Syrian refugees in Lebanon reached AANES-held areas and settled in Al-Hakomiya makeshift camp in north Raqqa.
The official added that the Camps and Humanitarian Affairs Office, affiliated with Raqqa’s Civil Council, will provide the needed support for refugees according to available resources. In case their numbers increase, the AANES will have to establish a specific camp for refugees returning from Lebanon.
The families that returned are originally from Tel Abyad, which is under the control of Turkish forces and Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, also known as Syrian National Army (SNA), he noted.
Earlier, the AANES called on the UN to provide assistance and guarantees and to assume its responsibilities in opening a humanitarian corridor between Lebanon and AANES-held areas to facilitate the safe return of refugees.