UN Reports 270,000 Syrians Return Home Post-Assad Regime

In the two months since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime, approximately 270,000 Syrians have returned to their homeland, Rudaw reported yesterday citing UNHCR. The regime was toppled on December 8, 2024, by a coalition of rebel groups led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, concluding Syria’s 13-year civil war that displaced millions.

The new authorities in Damascus have encouraged Syrians abroad to return, prompting several European nations to suspend processing refugee claims. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that around 27% of Syrian refugees plan to return in the coming months.

Among those who have returned are individuals registered with the UNHCR, as well as others from Türkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt. However, the situation remains dire, with over 650,000 Syrians newly internally displaced since late November 2024, contributing to a total of more than 7.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the country.