UNHCR: Over 1.4 million return to Syria

Shafaq News/ Around 400,000 Syrian refugees have returned from neighboring countries since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s government, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Saturday.

According to the agency’s latest estimates, more than one million internally displaced people also returned to their areas of origin during the same period, bringing the total number of returnees to over 1.4 million.

UNHCR launched an operational framework aimed at supporting the return of 1.5 million refugees and 2 million internally displaced persons in 2025. So far, it has received only $71M of the $575M required to fund its programs in Syria next year.

A new report from the UN refugee agency warned that the projected returns may fall short, noting that some returnees could be forced to flee again if sufficient funding is not secured.

Without further contributions, it said only a limited number of returnees could be assisted, potentially reducing overall return figures.

The agency also highlighted that 16.7 million people inside Syria—nearly 90% of the population—require humanitarian aid, while more than 7.4 million remain internally displaced.

Syria’s conflict has displaced more than half of its pre-war population. Over 5 million Syrian refugees remain in neighboring countries, including Turkiye, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt. Humanitarian operations across the region continue to face critical funding shortfalls, raising concerns about deteriorating conditions for returnees and host communities.