Departure of a convoy of Syrian refugees overseen by UNHCR and IOM, on Oct. 2, 2025, at Karantina, Beirut. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient-Le Jour)
The fifteenth convoy of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) "voluntary return" program, in coordination with Lebanese authorities, departed Wednesday morning from Bekaa to Syria via the Masnaa border crossing.
A UNHCR official, Dalal Harb, told L'Orient-Le Jour that about 70 people boarded buses chartered for this second convoy organized since the beginning of the year. During the 14th convoy, 40 Syrians also left the country.
This operation was organized by the UNHCR and supervised by the General Security Directorate, with departures via the Masnaa border crossing. It is carried out in cooperation with Syrian authorities, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Lebanese Red Cross, and humanitarian associations.
Meanwhile, individual returns of displaced people to their country continue daily: the Masnaa crossing sees dozens of buses transporting Syrians who have decided to return home after years in exile.
According to UNHCR figures, 552,413 Syrian refugees and migrants have returned to their country from Lebanon since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024.
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