Almost 1,000 Syrian refugees returned to their home country Monday in the latest in a series of voluntary returns organized by Lebanon’s General Security. Syrian state media agency SANA reported Monday afternoon that groups of refugees had crossed the border into Syria through the Abboudieh and Masnaa crossings and were being taken to their homes in areas that had been “liberated from terrorists.”
A statement from General Security later confirmed that the agency had assisted the voluntary return of 955 refugees to Syria in coordination with the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR.
The returnees gathered at 6 a.m. at various meeting points across the country, in Abboudieh, Al-Qaa, Burj Hammoud, Masnaa, Nabatieh, Sidon and Tripoli, the state-run National News Agency reported.
There they boarded buses and set off under the supervision of General Security officials and UNHCR.
Also Monday, Speaker Nabih Berri reiterated calls for the return of Syrian refugees to their country via coordination with the Syrian regime, according to a statement from his office.
“We can no longer bury our heads in the sand. We must make agreements with the [Syrian] state to return refugees,” Berri said during a reception in Doha hosted by Lebanese Ambassador to Qatar Hasan Najem. The speaker arrived in the Qatari capital Saturday to participate in the 140th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Berri and his Amal Movement, along with Hezbollah and President Michel Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement, have called for Lebanon to normalize ties with Damascus and coordinate with the regime to ensure the safe return of Syrian refugees.
But Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his Future Movement, the Lebanese Forces and the Progressive Socialist Party staunchly oppose any direct contacts with the regime until a political solution to the conflict there is reached.
Since May 2018, General Security has been registering Syrian refugees who are willing to return and organizing transportation back to their home country in coordination with the authorities there.
In some cases potential returnees may be rejected.
The agency announced in late March that 172,046 Syrian refugees had returned to their country from Lebanon since December 2017.
The number includes not only those who took part in voluntary return trips organized by General Security but also those who made the trip back on their own.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
