315,000 Syrian refugees to return to the country since the beginning of 2026
The Syrian General Authority for Ports and Customs announced that the number of Syrians returning from Lebanon through the Jdeideh Yabous crossing has reached 35,000 people since the beginning of the year until the end of last May, noting that the total number of returnees through the various Lebanese border crossings during the same period reached 150,000 citizens.
In a statement published on its official IDs, the Authority explained that more than 9,400 cars loaded with furniture and household belongings entered with the returnees, stressing that they allowed free entry and without any fees within the package of facilities allocated to returnees.
The Authority confirmed that it continues to provide expanded services and facilities to citizens returning voluntarily, in order to ensure the acceleration of transit procedures and enable families to transfer their personal belongings easily, considering that the recorded numbers reflect the continued pace of return and benefit from the approved government procedures.
The Authority stressed that its cadres are working around the clock to regulate the movement of transit and ensure the smooth flow of procedures, with the aim of providing the best services to the returnees and enhancing their stability conditions inside the country.
Decline in the number of returnees after the Lebanon truce
The number of returnees from Lebanon to Syria witnessed a significant increase at the beginning of last March against the background of the situation and the military escalation in Lebanon, before retreating, according to the International Organization for Migration, after the announcement of the ceasefire in Lebanon on April 17.
In a report by the organization on May 28, the organization explained that 33,887 people have returned to Lebanon since the peak of displacement (153,087 arrivals registered on April 27, 2026).
Between March 2 and May 25, 119,200 people arrived at 1,238 locations distributed across all Syrian governorates, with Syrian citizens constituting the vast majority of arrivals, while the percentage of Lebanese did not exceed 1%.
As of May 25, 366,719 crossings were recorded through the four entry points on the Syrian-Lebanese border, the report said, noting that about 97% of these movements belonged to Syrian nationals, compared to 3% for Lebanese nationals, noting that an additional 2,211 Lebanese citizens crossed from Syria towards Jordan during the same period.
More than 315,000 refugees have returned since early 2026
UNHCR estimates and field reports indicate that the voluntary return of Syrians witnessed a significant increase during the first five months of 2026, as the number of returnees exceeded 315,000 refugees from various countries of the world, bringing the total number of returnees since the fall of the former regime in December 2024 to more than 1.63 million people.
The data show that the current wave of returns is one of the largest in years, driven by a relative improvement in basic services in some areas, logistical facilities at the crossings, and economic and social factors in countries of asylum.
Field data showed that since the beginning of 2026, the return movement has been unevenly distributed among the countries of asylum, as Lebanon topped the list of countries of origin for returnees with about 150,000 people through the new crossings of Yabous, Joussiya and Al-Arida, and Turkey came in second place with the return of nearly 130,000 refugees through the northern gates, foremost of which is the Kasab crossing.
UN statistics recorded the return of about 20,000 people from Jordan through the Nasib crossing, while nearly 12,000 refugees from Iraq and Egypt returned via flights and land ports in recent months.
In contrast, returns from Europe, especially from Germany, have remained very limited and only in the range of hundreds, with most residents preferring to wait for the completion of political and security arrangements before making a decision to return.