Fri Mar 07 11:58:23 UTC 2025: ## Over 300,000 Syrian Refugees Return Home Amidst Ongoing Crisis

**Geneva/Damascus** – The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced Friday that over 300,000 Syrian refugees have returned to their homeland since the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad in early December. This figure, revealed by UNHCR spokesperson Celine Schmitt during a press briefing, marks a significant development in the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis.

Schmitt, speaking via video link from Damascus, stated that the returns began on December 8th. This follows a statement by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, reporting the return of over 133,000 Syrian refugees from Turkey to Syria since Assad’s removal from power. Turkey, hosting nearly three million Syrian refugees, is actively encouraging their repatriation.

The Syrian civil war, which began in 2011 following the brutal suppression of anti-government protests, has claimed over half a million lives and displaced millions. While the UNHCR acknowledges the large-scale return of refugees, Schmitt emphasized that the crisis remains the world’s largest displacement situation. She added that an additional 900,000 internally displaced persons within Syria have also returned to their homes, bringing the total number of returns since early December to 1.2 million. Furthermore, a UNHCR survey indicates that another one million internally displaced people intend to return within the next year. Despite the positive trend of returns, the UNHCR continues to monitor the situation closely.

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