Over 100,000 Syrian Refugees Return Home Amid Post-Assad Transition
Syrian government reports mass returns from neighboring countries while intensifying border security operations against drug and arms smuggling networks.
Watan-The Syrian government has revealed the total number of Syrian refugees who have returned from neighboring countries to settle in their homeland over the past two months following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The official news agency “SANA” quoted Mazen Alloush, Director of Relations at the General Authority for Land and Sea Border Crossings, as saying on Monday:
“During the past two months since Syria’s liberation from the former regime, the border crossings with Turkey have received 100,905 Syrians who returned for permanent settlement in their homeland.”
Alloush explained that the returnees were distributed across several border crossings:
- Around 49,485 citizens entered through Bab al-Hawa Crossing
- 35,834 through Bab al-Salamah Crossing
- 7,644 through Kasab Crossing
- 5,504 through Al-Hamam Crossing
- 2,438 through Jarabulus Crossing
All necessary services and facilities were provided to them free of charge, and they were exempted from any fees on their belongings and furniture brought along during their return.
Alloush also stated that the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing with Lebanon received 627,287 travelers, including 339,018 arrivals and 288,269 departures, among them Syrian citizens, Arab, and foreign guests. The crossing also received hundreds of press, diplomatic, and humanitarian delegations. Meanwhile, the Nassib border crossing with Jordan received 174,241 travelers, with 109,837 arrivals and 64,404 departures.
From the Iraqi side, the Al-Bukamal border crossing received 5,460 Syrian citizens residing in Iraq who returned for permanent settlement in Syria.
Security Situation
On the security front, Lieutenant Colonel Mouayyad Al-Salama, commander of the western region in the Border Security Administration, announced that clashes took place last week with armed smuggling gangs in the Syrian villages of Hawik, Jarmash, Wadi al-Hourani, and Akoum during a combing operation to secure the country’s western borders against smuggling activities.
Speaking to SANA, Al-Salama said that the Assad regime had turned the Syrian-Lebanese border into drug trafficking routes in cooperation with Hezbollah, which facilitated the growing presence of armed smuggling gangs in the border region.
He added that during the security sweep, Syrian forces seized a large number of farms, warehouses, and factories producing and packaging hashish and Captagon pills, as well as specialized counterfeiting printing presses. He noted that this area had served as an economic lifeline for these criminal groups.
Additionally, Syrian forces intercepted multiple shipments of weapons and narcotics in the border areas with Lebanon that were intended for smuggling, according to the military official.
