More Than 125,000 Refugees Return To Syria In Desperate Conditions

9 January 2025

Leading calls for the international community to “move from words to action” to help the country’s most vulnerable returnees urgently, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said that many families have little shelter and few economic prospects.

“In recent weeks, there has been talk in high-level international circles of the need for ‘early recovery’ and ‘rebuilding,’” said Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, UNHCR Representative in Syria, a day after a Security Council meeting charting the way ahead for a peaceful future for all Syrians. “But until we move from words to action, for many returnees…their new life in Syria will unfortunately mean sleeping surrounded by plastic sheeting.”

After 14 years of war – that ended on 8 December after a lightning military takeover in Damascus by forces including Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) – and as international aid teams return to the country, the sheer scale of the destruction across Syria’s towns and cities has become increasingly clear.

In addition to the refugee returnees, nearly 500,000 internally displaced people uprooted by the war made their way back to northwest Syria by the end of last year, according to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.

Before the fall of the Assad regime, it estimated that 7.4 million people had been internally displaced inside Syria, with 2.3 million residing in camps and a total of 16.7 million people relying on humanitarian assistance.

Following the Security Council discussions, the foreign ministers of Italy, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, in addition to the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, prepared to meet in Rome on Thursday to discuss the situation in Syria.

Winter shelter priority

Echoing the UNHCR alert, the UN migration agency, IOM, pointed to massive winterization needs across Syria for people uprooted or returning to the country, in a call for $73.2 million to assist more than 1.1 million people over the next six months. This represents a substantial increase from the previous $30 million appeal issued in December 2024.

“This effort aims to provide immediate assistance to the most at-risk and vulnerable communities, including displaced and returning groups, across Syria,” IOM said in a statement. “The funds will be used to provide essential relief items and cash, shelter and protection assistance, water, sanitation, hygiene, and health services, as well as early recovery support to people on the move.”

Since December 2024, IOM’s operations inside Syria have reached more than 80,000 people with winter relief items, 170,000 with emergency water and sanitation (WASH) services, and 15,000 with multipurpose cash assistance.

Challenge to restore basic services

OCHA noted that restoring water and electricity supply, among other basic services, remains challenging across the country due to insecurity and infrastructure damage.

The agency reported that the Tishreen Dam in Aleppo is still non-operational since it was damaged in conflict a month ago, and clashes continue in the area, cutting off regular water and electricity access for more than 410,000 people in the cities of Menbij and Kobani.

Ongoing hostilities in parts of Aleppo governorate are reportedly causing civilian casualties, as well as damage to infrastructure and disruptions to aid operations.

The UN and partners continue to support the health response in Syria – including the delivery of medicine, trauma kits and vaccines – but needs remain immense.

Humanitarians report that cases of influenza-like illness are on the rise throughout the country. They also warn that recently released detainees are facing heightened risks of pneumonia, tuberculosis and malnutrition due to pre-existing poor health conditions.

OCHA said many health and nutrition facilities in northwest Syria remain closed, with many having been severely damaged due to shelling in recent months, while others have run out of funding.

Meanwhile, medical mobile units in the northeast are facing staffing shortages due to the lack of health workers, and pharmaceuticals and medical supplies are urgently needed.

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