A convoy of more than 700 Syrian refugees returning to Syria from the Azraq camp, east of Amman in Jordan, on June 3, 2025. (Credit: Khalil Mazraawi/AFP.)
BEIRUT — Over two million refugees and internally displaced persons have returned home in Syria since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in early December, Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said Thursday from Lebanon.
Grandi also emphasized that the High Commissioner now provides assistance to Syrians in Syria, a demand strongly advocated by Lebanese officials who are pressing for the repatriation of refugees and migrants to their country.
"More than two million Syrian refugees and displaced persons have returned home since December— a sign of hope despite growing regional tensions," Grandi stated on X, ahead of a planned visit to Syria. "This proves that we need political solutions, not another wave of instability and displacement," he added during his visit to Beirut, where authorities are urging the return of refugees and migrants to Syria. The Cabinet had approved a plan developed by a ministerial commission for the return of refugees on Monday.
Aoun: The reasons for the displacement of Syrians no longer exist
During his meeting with Grandi, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun affirmed that "Lebanon adheres to the necessity of the return of Syrian refugees to their country, now that the reasons for their displacement no longer exist" with the fall of the Assad regime, according to remarks reported on the Baabda Palace's X account.
Aoun also requested the UNHCR "to intensify its efforts to facilitate returns and continue to provide assistance within Syrian territory."
Grandi, for his part, stated that "the UNHCR now provides direct financial aid to Syrian families returning to Syria." According to the High Commissioner's website, the U.N. indeed allows eligible families returning to Syria from Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, and Turkey to receive a cash grant of 400 dollars "to support reintegration," which is provided "only upon return."
Only families registered with the UNHCR, including those receiving monthly aid in host countries, can obtain this funding. Other services are also provided in Syria by the UNHCR, whether to returnees, internally displaced persons, or local communities, such as medical aid, legal support, limited financial aid, housing assistance, or food assistance provided by the Syrian Food Program in certain areas.
"During a meeting with President Aoun, we discussed ways to increase the opportunities to return home for Syrian refugees," Grandi wrote on X. "Many refugees have already made this choice, but for the returns to be sustainable, Syria needs more substantial and swift international support."
A tripartite effort is necessary
The High Commissioner was then received by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri, who chairs a ministerial commission on the return of refugees, and Minister of Social Affairs Hanine el-Sayed, according to the Grand Serail's X account.
During the meeting, they discussed the issue of refugees in Lebanon, "based on the return plan approved by the government" on Monday. They emphasized "the importance of a tripartite effort in coordination among Lebanon, the UNHCR, and Syrian authorities to provide favorable conditions for the safe and dignified return of refugees to their country, alongside the necessary assistance to facilitate this return."
Damascus has recently taken measures to facilitate the return of refugees.
After 14 years of civil war in Syria and the downfall of Assad in December 2024, the early months of this year have seen an increasing number of Syrians returning home. The UNHCR indicated that as of June 12, more than 500,000 refugees had returned to Syria since Assad's fall.
According to the U.N. agency, by the end of 2025, up to 1.5 million Syrians coming from abroad and two million internally displaced persons could return to their homes. Despite the returns, 13.5 million Syrians remain refugees outside the country, or internally displaced.
The new authorities have inherited a country with a devastated economy, destroyed infrastructure, where the majority of citizens live below the poverty line, according to the U.N. They are relying on support from Gulf and Western countries to launch reconstruction, following the lifting of sanctions imposed on the previous regime by the European Union and the United States.
The U.N. estimates the cost at more than 400 billion dollars.