About 1 million displaced Syrians will return to their country in the first half of 2025, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) predicted in Geneva on Tuesday.
Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR director for the Middle East and North Africa, said this is a planning measure. Returnees need support in finding housing and work, he said.
Imseis warned against pressuring the Syrians to return early. “No one should be forced to return,” he said. “We rely on the states to be patient and not take drastic decisions.”
It was too early to say where in the country they would be safe to return to, and people who had spent years in exile were not expected to pack their bags overnight.
Imseis said there have been no new border checks in Syria following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime.
He added that UNHCR is at the borders and monitoring thousands entering the country from Jordan and Turkey. There were also thousands from Syria, he said, but added that there were no exact figures.
Syrians wait to cross into Syria from Turkey at the Cilvegozu border gate, near Hatay in southern Turkey. Ahmed Deeb/dpa
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