Men, women, and children cross the al-Kabir River, which separates northern Lebanon from Syria, to reach Akkar, on March 10, 2025. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/L’Orient-Le Jour)
Thousands of Syrian refugees have returned from Lebanon to Syria since the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad. During that same period, though, just as many Syrians have fled Syria for Lebanon — maybe more.The fall of the Assad government in December created expectations in Lebanon that Syrian refugees might now return en masse. These Syrians no longer had any reason to remain in Lebanon, some Lebanese politicians argued; it was time for Syrians to return to Syria, or for Lebanon to return them. A look at... With the sanctions lifted, is the return of Syrian refugees possible? Six months on, that is not how things have played out. Around 100,000 Syrians have left Lebanon since December, but they have been replaced by a comparable number of Syrians fleeing instability and violence across the border. Lebanon now hosts roughly the...
Thousands of Syrian refugees have returned from Lebanon to Syria since the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad. During that same period, though, just as many Syrians have fled Syria for Lebanon — maybe more.The fall of the Assad government in December created expectations in Lebanon that Syrian refugees might now return en masse. These Syrians no longer had any reason to remain in Lebanon, some Lebanese politicians argued; it was time for Syrians to return to Syria, or for Lebanon to return them. A look at... With the sanctions lifted, is the return of Syrian refugees possible? Six months on, that is not how things have played out. Around 100,000 Syrians have left Lebanon since December, but they have been replaced by a comparable number of Syrians fleeing instability and violence across the border. Lebanon now hosts roughly...
