Syrian refugees in Lebanon return to their country on Dec. 9, 2024, following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L’Orient Today)
Launched on July 1, Lebanon’s “voluntary return of Syrian refugees” program continues as a joint effort between the government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). “The Syrian side is cooperating with the return process,” Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said last week, adding that “162,000 files of Syrian refugees who have left Lebanon have been closed.”The UNHCR reported that as of 2025, 168,000 people have been removed from its registry due to verified or presumed returns, even before receiving any support from the agency. When contacted by L’Orient Today, a UNHCR spokesperson said that “by the end of July 2025, more than 71,000 people had expressed interest in voluntary return and received counseling on the process.” On Tuesday, Sayyed confirmed the figure during a televised interview on the local MTV...
Launched on July 1, Lebanon’s “voluntary return of Syrian refugees” program continues as a joint effort between the government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). “The Syrian side is cooperating with the return process,” Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said last week, adding that “162,000 files of Syrian refugees who have left Lebanon have been closed.”The UNHCR reported that as of 2025, 168,000 people have been removed from its registry due to verified or presumed returns, even before receiving any support from the agency. When contacted by L’Orient Today, a UNHCR spokesperson said that “by the end of July 2025, more than 71,000 people had expressed interest in voluntary return and received counseling on the process.” On Tuesday, Sayyed confirmed the figure during a televised interview...
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