UNHCR: Over two million displaced people returned to Syria
Migrants and refugees from Syria and Iraq cross the Greek-Macedonian border near the town of Gevgelija on February 23, 2016. Greece has expressed "displeasure" to the EU over tougher border controls by Balkan countries that have stranded thousands of migrants in the country, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' office said on February 23. / AFP / Robert ATANASOVSKI (Photo credit should read ROBERT ATANASOVSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Over two million refugees and internally displaced people have returned to their homes in Syria following the December 2024 collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, according to Radio France Internationale on June 19th.
On June 19th, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, released a statement addressing the situation.
“More than two million Syrian refugees and displaced people have returned home since December – a sign of hope despite growing regional tensions,” Grandi wrote on his X account ahead of a scheduled visit to Syria. “This proves we need political solutions, not a new wave of instability and displacement,” he added while in Lebanon, where authorities have been pressing for the repatriation of Syrian refugees.
After 14 years of brutal civil war, the first half of 2025 has witnessed a significant increase in Syrians returning home. According to UNHCR data, over 500,000 refugees have made their way back to Syria since Assad’s fall. The agency estimates that by the end of the year, up to 1.5 million Syrians overseas, alongside two million internally uprooted people, could potentially return.
However, the scale of displacement remains immense. A total of 13.5 million Syrians are still either refugees abroad or are internally uprooted within the country.
The new governing authorities now face the task of rebuilding a rundown economy and devastated infrastructure. According to the United Nations, the majority of Syrians continue to live under the poverty line.
The interim government hopes to attract reconstruction support from Gulf states and Western countries, after the removal of sanctions previously enforced by the European Union and the US. The UN estimates the cost of Syria’s reconstruction at over $400 billion.
Radio France Internationale, Maghrebi.org
Want to chase the pulse of North Africa?
Subscribe to receive our FREE weekly PDF magazine
