Lebanon says 320,000 Syrian refugees returned home since July

By Wassim Samih Seifeddine and Rania Abu Shamala

BEIRUT/ISTANBUL (AA) – More than 320,000 Syrian refugees have been repatriated to their country under an organized return program launched in July, Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs Haneen El Sayyed said Thursday.

“The organized return of displaced Syrians comes as part of a government plan, which started early July, in coordination with the Lebanese government, the General Security Directorate, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM),” she said in statements.

“Over 320,000 displaced Syrians have so far returned home after their names were removed from UNHCR records in cooperation with the Lebanese General Security,” she said, describing the move as “a major achievement.”

The minister noted that over 110,000 displaced Syrians have registered their desire to return, raising the expected number of returnees to about half a million Syrians by the end of this year.

In June, the Lebanese government announced a multi-phase plan for the return of Syrians to their homeland.

Lebanese estimates indicate that the number of Syrian refugees in the country is about 1.8 million, including around 880,000 registered with UNHCR.

Syrian President Ahmad Al-Sharaa has voiced hope that most Syrians abroad will return home within the next two years.