More than two million Syrians who fled their homes during the war in their country have returned since the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad, UN Refugee Agency chief Filippo Grandi said on Thursday, June 19, ahead of a visit to Syria.
Syria's civil war, which began in 2011, has displaced half the population, either within the country or abroad. But the overthrow of Assad by Islamist forces on December 8 last year has raised hopes of return.
"More than two million Syrian refugees and displaced persons have returned home since December," Grandi wrote in X during a visit to neighboring Lebanon, which hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees.
After 14 years of war, many returnees are facing the reality that their homes and property have been severely damaged or destroyed.
But with the recent lifting of Western sanctions on Syria, the new authorities are hoping for international support to begin reconstruction, which the UN estimates could cost more than $400 billion.
Western sanctions were lifted despite the fact that Syria's new president is a former radical and Islamist militants have been involved in the massacre of thousands of Christians and Alawites in recent months.
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