QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih on Thursday urged the international community to rapidly increase support for Syrians as growing numbers of refugees and internally displaced people return after years of conflict. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Concluding a week-long visit to Syria, Salih said the country is at a \u201chistoric turning point,\u201d with more than three million Syrians having returned from abroad or displacement inside the country since December 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRecovery on this scale is a huge task, and Syria cannot do it alone,\u201d Salih said, calling for swift international support for recovery, livelihoods, infrastructure and basic services while humanitarian needs remain significant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
During his visit, Salih traveled to Damascus, Idlib and Aleppo governorates, meeting government officials, displaced families, returnees and host communities to assess progress and remaining challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Damascus, he met President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the foreign minister and members of the government\u2019s inter-ministerial committee overseeing its \u201cNo Tents, No Camps\u201d initiative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Idlib, displaced families at al-Hijra camp told him that destroyed homes and a lack of basic services in their areas of origin continued to prevent them from returning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Salih also visited a cadastral office in Maarat al-Numan that UNHCR helped renovate, allowing residents to access land and property records. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nearly four million Syrian refugees remain in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, while around 5.5 million people remain internally displaced inside Syria, according to UNHCR. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The agency stressed that returns must remain voluntary, safe and dignified while international support is expanded both inside Syria and for host countries continuing to shelter refugees. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Syria has faced prolonged displacement since the outbreak of conflict in 2011. Since December 2024, millions of Syrians have returned to their areas of origin or relocated within the country, increasing pressure on damaged infrastructure and already strained public services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At Al-Hijra Camp in Idlib, northwestern Syria, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih met displaced families and heard about their hopes for the future, Aug. 13, 2026. \u2013 UNHCR <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) \u2013 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih on Thursday urged the international community to rapidly increase support for Syrians as growing numbers of refugees and internally displaced people return after years of conflict. Concluding a week-long visit to Syria, Salih said the country is at a \u201chistoric turning point,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":140261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,39,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-140260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-home","category-syria"],"yoast_head":"\n