Compelling news from the refugee and migrant sector

Syria still not safe, UNHCR warns

30 January 20250 comments

As hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees return home following the fall of the Assad regime, there are fears of a spiralling humanitarian crisis.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi has appealed to the international community for bold and decisive action to help Syrians rebuild their war-torn country and support displaced Syrians in returning home.

Since September last year, more than 500,000 refugees have returned to Syria, including 200,000 after the fall of the Assad regime.

And almost 600,000 people who were displaced inside Syria have since returned to their homes.

But 7.4 million Syrians are still uprooted inside the country and there are more than six million Syrian refugees worldwide.

Despite the major political shifts in Syria over the last few weeks, the humanitarian crisis persists.

“We must seize this critical window of opportunity to help the country emerge from years of crisis and bloodshed,” Mr Grandi said.

“Many families are taking the brave step of returning home, longing for a better future, but they face overwhelming difficulties: destroyed and damaged homes, shattered infrastructure and widespread poverty.”

About a million Syrian refugees are expected to return to their home country between January and June 2025, the UN says, in a movement that could eventually end the largest displacement crisis in the world.

Since the outbreak of Syria’s civil war in 2011, more than 14 million Syrians have fled their homes in search of safety. Half that number remain internally displaced in a country where 70 per cent of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance, the UN estimates.

But thousands, especially from neighbouring Turkey and Lebanon, have started trickling back home since the collapse in December of Bashar Al Assad’s 24-year regime following a blitzkrieg launched by rebel forces.

About three million Syrian migrants and refugees are in Turkey, making it the biggest host of Syrians who have fled the civil war.

UNHCR is seeking $310 million to address the critical needs of the returnees but said that although the regime though brings hope for peace and stability, it does not mean the humanitarian crisis has ended.

“Syrians inside and outside the country still need protection and support,” UNHCR said in a statement.

After the Assad regime fell, several European countries hosting millions of refugees announced they were suspending Syrian asylum applications while some governments are pushing for the return of refugees.

UNHCR says basic necessities such as water and electricity are unreliable, and there is a lack of economic opportunities for those who have employment in the areas they fled to.

Aid agencies say Syria requires the largest recovery mission the world has seen in the recent history, for rebuilding and rehabilitation.

They say Syrian’s humanitarian sector is grossly underfunded.

Now the security situation has improved, UNHCR said its organisations and partners are on the ground in Syria, “rapidly resuming assistance and support programs”.

“Over 80 per cent of our community centres across the country are functioning again after a brief pause,” the agency said.

But refugees who fled a decade ago are now being joined by a new cohort of displaced by clashes in the north of Syria.

The UNHCR has estimated this group numbers more than one million, mostly women and children.

According to Human Rights Watch, tens of thousands of civilians seeking safety in Kurdish-controlled north-east Syria are facing dire conditions due to inadequate shelter, water, food and health care.

It said more than 100,000 people have fled from Aleppo to areas governed by the Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.