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Return of 17,000 Syrians from Turkey: Following the Fall of the Assad Regime
The movement of Syrians holding temporary protection cards in Turkey returning to their country through border crossings continues, as they seek permanent stability after relatively favorable conditions have been established following the fall of the Assad regime.
The Bab al-Salama border crossing with Turkey has seen a notable increase in the number of Syrians returning voluntarily, coinciding with the return of many Syrians through other crossings such as Bab al-Hawa in northern Idlib.
The Syria TV website visited the Bab al-Salama crossing to observe the return procedures. The General Authority for Land and Maritime Ports reported that the number of Syrians returning from Turkey to Syria through this crossing during the current month of January has reached around 8,000 individuals. The authority confirmed that this return is part of a larger movement that began after the fall of the Assad regime, with statistics indicating that approximately 17,000 Syrians have returned to their homeland so far through the crossing.
The authority explained that returnees are subjected to organizational procedures aimed at facilitating their return and ensuring the safety of the process. These procedures include document checks to verify the identity of returnees and their affiliation with the Syrian Arab Republic, as well as formal registration and the provision of all possible facilities to ensure their safe and smooth return.
Earlier, Turkish Minister of Trade, Omar Polat, mentioned that around 40,000 Syrians returned to their homeland in December 2024 through Turkish crossings, with this figure including more than 27,941 individuals via the "Cilvegözü" (Bab al-Hawa), "Zıtın Dalı" (Bab al-Salama), and "Yayladağı" (Kessab) crossings in Hatay, in addition to others who returned through different border crossings.
Turkish Interior Minister, Ali Yerlikaya, also indicated that the number of Syrians residing in Turkey under "temporary protection" is approximately 2 million and 920 thousand and 119 individuals, adding that 25,000 Syrians returned to their country voluntarily and safely within a 15-day period.
For his part, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, announced that around 200,000 Syrian refugees have returned to their homeland since the beginning of December 2024, amid the changes that followed the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
