UNHCR announces the return of 829 Syrian refugees from Libya
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has revealed that 829 Syrian refugees have voluntarily returned from Libya to Syria since the launch of the voluntary repatriation programme in November 2025.
UNHCR's senior external relations adviser, Anne-Marie Kerrigan Derrich, explained that the last flight within the program departed from Tripoli to Damascus on June 6, 2026, with 52 Syrian refugees on board, according to data quoted by Libya Review.
She said the trip raised the number of Syrians who voluntarily returned during 2026 to 390, bringing the total number of returnees since the start of the program to 829.
UNHCR stressed that all returns are carried out on a fully voluntary basis, and after individuals have made their decision freely and based on sufficient information, to ensure that returns are safe and dignified.
The voluntary return programme was not aimed at gathering information about refugees' migration routes or previous attempts to reach Europe, but rather focused on ensuring that participants were familiar with all aspects of the return decision before it was implemented.
Voluntary Repatriation Program from Libya
The implementation of the program actually began in October 2025 through flights taking off from Mitiga Airport in Tripoli towards Damascus International Airport, while data indicates that the majority of returnees come from the governorates of Daraa, Rural Damascus, Homs and Aleppo.
UNHCR is providing an integrated support package to returnees upon arrival, including emergency financial assistance to cover the cost of basic living, basic health care, facilitating the reintegration of children into schools, as well as small grants for micro-professional and commercial enterprises that allow families to build a sustainable source of income.
Voluntary requests for return have increased as a result of several factors, most notably the political changes that Syria witnessed after the fall of the former regime, the decline in security prosecutions, and the beginning of the transitional stabilization phase.
The difficult conditions in Libya have played a pivotal role in pushing many to return, with a lack of legal protection, the risk of detention, and dire economic conditions, and a large number of refugees wanting to abandon attempts to migrate irregularly across the Mediterranean.
1,300 Syrians want to leave Libya
UNHCR said a survey conducted in mid-2025 showed that some 1,300 Syrian refugees, representing some 217 families, wanted to return to their country, with new applications continuing to be received through various channels.
However, she noted that the programme faces operational challenges that delay some flights, most notably the lack of valid travel documents and the difficulty of accessing the consular services needed to complete the procedures.
UNHCR said Libya continues to host large numbers of refugees and migrants, and is working with the Libyan authorities and humanitarian partners to provide protection, assistance and support for sustainable solutions, including the voluntary return of those wishing to return to their countries of origin.
Each request for return was evaluated individually, and no process was carried out until it had been verified that the decision had been taken voluntarily and with full awareness of all available options.
Nearly 4,000 Syrian refugees in Libya
The number of Syrian refugees officially registered with UNHCR in Libya is about 3,690 refugees and asylum-seekers as of July 2026, but this figure only reflects those who have been able to officially register in the organization's registers, while estimates differ when calculating the real numbers, which include broader categories of Syrians residing in the country.
The IOM's data for 2026 indicates that the total number of foreign migrants in Libya is close to 940,000 people, and these flows include thousands of unregistered Syrians who entered Libya for the purpose of work or temporary settlement, or used it as a "transit station" before attempting to cross the Mediterranean by irregular routes towards European shores.
Syrians in Libya are mainly distributed in the cities of Tripoli, Benghazi and Misrata, where they live in varying conditions that are affected by the security and political situation in the country.
Libya is currently witnessing extensive vetting campaigns on irregular migrants in the east and west, which has led to some Syrians being held in temporary shelters, amid growing fears of tightening security and difficulty accessing basic services.
1.64 million returned to Syria
More than 1.64 million Syrian refugees voluntarily returned to their country from neighbouring countries and the region from 8 December 2024 to mid-July 2026, in parallel with the return of about 1.96 million internally displaced persons to their villages and areas of origin, according to cross-data issued by UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Statistics indicate that Turkey topped the list of host countries in terms of the number of returnees, with about 628,485 refugees returning through the northern land crossings such as Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salama, while UN data documented the return of 609,717 Syrian refugees, from Lebanon, which is the fastest and most forced percentage due to the severe deterioration of living and the economic pressures that Syrians lived there, which made the return the first option for entire families.
Jordan recorded the return of more than 203,500 refugees by the end of June 2026, with a clear surge in May and June with an additional 6,900 cases, and statistics show that 40% of those returning from Jordan are from Daraa, followed by Homs and the Damascus countryside, while 24% of them left directly from Zaatari and Azraq camps.