Syria supports return of more than 60,000 displaced people since January
The returns are governed under Presidential Decree No. 59 and follow voluntary requests submitted by displaced families
More than 60,000 internally displaced people in Syria have been supported in returning home from displacement sites since January 2026, as part of the country's "No Camps Vision" initiative.
Returns accelerated in July and August, when 38,836 people left displacement camps, including 19,600 who received assistance through facilitated return mechanisms. The operations led to the inactivation of 130 displacement sites during the two-month period, says Arab News.
The returns are governed under Presidential Decree No. 59 and follow voluntary requests submitted by displaced families.
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Operations are jointly managed by the Idlib governorate and its Social Affairs and Labor Directorate, alongside the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the Muzn Organization, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the Emergency and Disaster Management Directorate.
Returning families are provided with air-conditioned buses for transport and trucks to carry their household belongings. Registration remains open for future return operations.
In the latest operation, a convoy departing on September 27 transported 263 families from northern camps to home destinations in southern Idlib and parts of Hama, Aleppo and Damascus provinces.
The return process is shifting humanitarian needs from displacement camps to communities receiving returnees, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said, placing increasing pressure on local infrastructure and host populations.
Returning families face extensive damage to their homes, weak public services, inadequate housing and limited livelihood opportunities, increasing the risk of further displacement if those needs are not addressed.
OCHA has identified the rehabilitation of bakeries, water and electricity networks, hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and housing as key priorities.
Raqqa province in northeast Syria has shown some of the strongest signs of recovery in water, electricity and security and protection conditions. Persistent economic vulnerability, however, continues to hinder long-term stability.
More than 11 million people have been displaced since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011, including more than 7.4 million internally displaced people.
Since the fall of President Bashar Assad in December 2024, more than 1.87 million Syrians, including refugees returning from abroad and internally displaced people, have returned to their original home areas.
