Second group of Syrian refugees returns home from Lebanon under UN plan
A second group of Syrian refugees returned home from Lebanon on Thursday under a plan the United Nations developed with the Lebanese government following the downfall of Bashar Assad’s rule in December.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that over 300 Syrian individuals returned home with transportation provided from Beirut, crossing through Masnaa border, to drop-off points in Hama, Homs and Idlib governorates in Syria.
Lebanon hosted an estimated 1.5 million refugees, at one point making up roughly a quarter of its six million people, with many having been smuggled across the border and unregistered with the U.N.
The plan has the U.N. refugee agency offering $100 in cash to each repatriated Syrian refugee and the Lebanese authorities waiving any fees or fines they owe. The UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration would also provide buses for the return journey.
The UNHCR will also help returning Syrians with “cash grants, legal assistance for civil documents, psychosocial support, livelihood opportunities, and other protection services.”
Since January 2025, 238,120 Syrian individuals have returned to Syria, UNHCR said.
Since the fall of Bashar Assad’s government in December, some 850,000 Syrian refugees have returned home from neighboring countrie, a top official with the U.N. refugee agency said earlier this month.
The first group of Syrian refugees returned home from Lebanon in late July.
Source: Associated Press, Naharnet
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