850,000 Syrian Refugees Return Home Since Assad’s Fall, UN Says

850,000 Syrian Refugees Return Home Since Assad’s Fall, UN Says
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Since the fall of Bashar Assad’s government in December, around 850,000 Syrian refugees have returned from neighboring countries, and the figure could reach 1 million in the coming weeks, a senior UN official said Monday.

UNHCR reported that an additional 1.7 million internally displaced Syrians have gone back to their communities as the interim central government now controls much of the country.

The conflict, which began in 2011, has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half of Syria’s pre-war population of 23 million. Over 5 million fled abroad, mostly to nearby countries.

Many Syrians are choosing to return as border crossings reopen. In Lebanon, where refugees make up the world’s highest per capita share, authorities granted an exemption allowing undocumented Syrians to leave without penalty before the end of August, prompting thousands to cross back.

The UN says the scale of returns is unprecedented in recent years. However, instability persists. Sectarian violence has surged, with massacres against Assad’s Alawite minority in the coastal region in March and against the Druze community in Sweida in July, leaving hundreds dead.

July’s fighting displaced about 190,000 people in southern Syria. Since then, aid agencies, including UNHCR, have sent 21 convoys of relief supplies to Sweida, while the reopening of the Damascus-Sweida highway has eased humanitarian access.

Despite the high pace of returns, the UN notes that security risks and humanitarian needs remain critical as Syria begins a fragile recovery.