By Wassim Seifeddine and Tarek Chouiref
BEIRUT/ISTANBUL (AA) – Lebanon on Tuesday launched the first phase of a government plan to return Syrian refugees to their home country.
According to the state news agency NNA, dozens of refugees crossed into Syria through the Al-Masnaa (Jdeidat Yabous) border point, in coordination between Lebanon’s General Security Directorate and the Syrian government.
Two buses carrying dozens of refugees departed from a gathering point in the eastern Lebanese town of Bar Elias toward Syria, an Anadolu reporter said.
Syria’s official SANA news agency said 72 refugees returned to their country via the Jdeidat Yabous crossing in the Damascus countryside under the voluntary return program from Lebanon.
The move is part of an organized and safe return process involving the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Lebanese Red Cross, and several humanitarian organizations, the news agency noted.
In June, the Lebanese government unveiled a new multi-stage plan to facilitate the return of refugees from Lebanon to Syria. The plan distinguishes between organized and unorganized returns, with the first involving registration and transportation by bus, while each returnee receives $100.
Unorganized returns allow refugees to set their departure date and arrange transportation independently, with the same $100 allowance provided.
Lebanon hosts about 1.8 million Syrian refugees, including around 880,000 registered with the UNHCR, according to Lebanese officials.