About 850,000 Syrians returned home since Assad’s fall – UNHCR
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – A senior UN refugee official said on Monday that about 850,000 Syrians have already returned from neighboring countries since Assad’s fall.
Deputy High Commissioner of the UNHCR, Kelly T. Clements, told The Associated Press in Damascus that about 850,000 Syrians have already returned from neighboring countries since Assad’s fall, and around 1.7 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) have gone back to their communities as the Syrian transitional government now controls most of Syria.
Clements added that in the coming weeks, close to one million Syrian refugees are expected to return home.
“It’s a dynamic period. It’s an opportunity where we could see potentially solutions for the largest global displacements that we have seen in the last 14 years,” said Clements, who is on a three-day visit to Syria.
The UNHCR official noted that returnees have varied reasons for coming back, while many others are waiting to see how the situation unfolds.
Clements also highlighted the humanitarian situation in southern Syria, where nearly 190,000 people were displaced during fighting in July between pro-government gunmen and Druze fighters.
Since then, 21 convoys of relief aid, including contributions from UNHCR, have reached the southern governorate of Suwayda.
She added that the reopening of the Damascus-Suwayda highway, which had been blocked for weeks by pro-government armed groups, is “very important because that will allow much more relief to come into the area.”