By Timour Azhari
BEIRUT (Reuters) -Thousands of Syrian refugees are set to return from Lebanon this week under the first, U.N.-backed plan providing financial incentives, after Syria’s new rulers said all citizens were welcome home despite deep war damage and security concerns.
Returning Syrians will be provided with $100 each in Lebanon and $400 per family upon arrival in Syria, Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said. Transport is also covered and fees have been waived by border authorities, she said.
“I think it’s a good and important start. We have discussed and are coordinating this with our Syrian counterparts and I think the numbers will increase in the coming weeks,” Sayed told Reuters. A Syrian interior ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
More than 6 million Syrians fled as refugees after conflict broke out in Syria in 2011, with most heading to Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan. Lebanon has the highest concentration of refugees per capita in the world, hosting about 1.5 million Syrians among a population of about 4 million Lebanese.
Some 11,000 have registered to return from Lebanon in the first week, and the government targets between 200,000 and 400,000 returns this year under the plan, Sayed said.
The Lebanese government is focused on informal tented settlements in the country, where some 200,000 refugees live, she added, and may provide Syrian breadwinners who stay in Lebanon with work permits for sectors such as agriculture and construction if their families return to Syria.
U.N. agencies previously viewed Syria as unsafe for large-scale returns due to uncertainty over security and persecution by the government of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December.
That has changed.
Since taking over, the new Islamist-led Syrian government has said all Syrians are welcome home. A U.N. survey from earlier this year showed nearly 30% of refugees living in Middle Eastern countries wanted to go back, up from 2% when Assad was in power.
WAR DAMAGE, INSECURITY
“While the situation in Syria continues to rapidly evolve, (U.N. refugee agency) UNHCR considers the current context a positive opportunity for larger numbers of Syrian refugees to return home, or to begin considering return in a realistic and durable way,” Ivo Freijsen, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, told Reuters.
As of the end of June 2025, UNHCR estimated that over 628,000 Syrians had crossed back to Syria via neighbouring countries since 8 December 2024, including 191,000 via Lebanon.
Pressures on Syrians have also grown in Lebanon, which in addition to a months-long war with Israel in 2024 has been stuck in financial disarray and economic stagnation for years, leading to rising anti-Syrian sentiment.
But much of Syria remains in ruins, with homes and public infrastructure, including power stations, schools and water services, devastated.
More than 7 million Syrians are still internally displaced, according to the U.N.
“Many refugees have expressed a desire to return to their country but also remain hesitant due to the uncertain short and long-term conditions in Syria,” Freijsen said.
Security is a main concern. Despite this year’s returns, over 106,000 Syrians have also arrived in Lebanon, many members of the country’s Alawite minority fleeing violence in coastal regions.
(Reporting by Timour Azhari; Editing by Aidan Lewis)
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