The UN’s refugee chief has said that more than two million Syrians have returned home since December 2024 following the collapse of the Assad regime.
Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), wrote on X: “Over two million Syrian refugees and displaced have returned home since December — a sign of hope amid rising regional tensions.”
But while en route to Syria for World Refugee Day, Grandi reiterated the need for a “political solution” amid continued internal divisions and occasional flare-ups of violence.
“This proves that we need political solutions — not another wave of instability and displacement,” he noted.
The news comes just months after Syria’s Minister of Energy, Mohammed al-Bashir, called for Syrians who have sought refuge abroad to return to their homeland following the defeat of Bashar al-Assad.
At the time, Al-Bashir informed an Italian newspaper that one of his first goals was to “bring back the millions of Syrian refugees who are abroad.”
“Their human capital, their experience will allow the country to flourish,” Bashir said in the interview.
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“Mine is an appeal to all Syrians abroad: Syria is now a free country that has earned its pride and dignity. Come back. We must rebuild, be reborn, and we need everyone’s help.”
Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people and forced half the country’s population to flee their homes, with millions finding refuge abroad.
Lebanon and Türkiye have housed millions of Syrians, while many more fled to Europe or elsewhere.
Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December following a rapid push by armed groups in Idlib, which swept aside Assad-loyal forces in a lightning campaign, ending the Ba’ath Party regime that had been in power since 1963.
Ahmad al-Sharaa, who led anti-regime forces to oust Assad, was declared president for a transitional period in late January 2025.
Al-Sharaa has worked hard to woo the West and lobby for sanctions relief. These efforts have paid off, with U.S. President Donald Trump announcing the lifting of sanctions in May.
Damascus has also been welcomed back among the Arab powers, with Saudi Arabia and Qatar pledging to help rebuild Syria.
These developments appear to have convinced huge numbers of Syrians that it is now safe to return home.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has predicted that as many as 3.5 million refugees may return home this year, with people hopeful of a fresh start.
The Assad regime had tried to market the idea of a “safe return” for refugees itself before its collapse, but it is thought that many of those who did return were arrested or forcibly conscripted into the army, while reconstruction of the country remained limited.
