Trucks carrying luggage for Syrian refugees returning to Syria, Nov. 5, 2022. (Credit: Image provided by L'Orient Today's correspondent Sarah Abdallah)
BEIRUT — Lebanese authorities have resumed the deportation of Syrian refugees to Syria after a prolonged suspension, a Lebanese security source told L'Orient Today on Friday.
The deportations, described by authorities as "voluntary," are being carried out by the Lebanese Army, while General Security is handling the legal paperwork related to the returnees’ entry and exit legal status, the source said.
"These people have been in Lebanon for a long time, and they claimed they want to return. The General security has been taking their names so that they can return to their country," the source added.
According to L'Orient Today’s regional correspondent, a group of 240 displaced Syrians departed the border town of Ersal (Baalbeck-Hermel district) via the Zamrani border crossing. Their return was supervised by the Lebanese Army and took place in the presence of representatives from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and a General Security patrol.
The source did not specify why the deportations had been halted or what prompted their resumption.
Contacted by L'Orient Today, the Lebanese Army was not immediately available for comment.
Between 2018 and 2024, Lebanon coordinated with the former Syrian authorities to organize refugee return convoys, with the former approving the names of refugees seeking to return under what officials called "safe return" conditions.
In December 2024, a swift rebel offensive toppled Syria’s former regime, ending decades of Assad family rule. In January 2025, Ahmad al-Sharaa, leader of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham — the group that led the offensive — was appointed president for a transitional phase.
Several days of sectarian violence beginning on March 6 marked the worst bloodshed since the rebel takeover. Massacres were reported, primarily in the Alawite-dominated coastal region. More than 21,000 people have since fled to Lebanon, according to the United Nations.
