The lightning offensive by various Syrian rebel groups that led to the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime on Sunday, December 8, 2024, has sparked a wave of hope among Syrians who have sought refuge outside their borders since the start of the civil war in 2011. In Turkey, a country currently hosting more than three million Syrian refugees according to data from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there were scenes of joy after the end of five decades of a bloody dictatorship established by Hafez al-Assad and perpetuated by his son Bashar. In the past days, hundreds of Syrian refugees have flocked to the Turkish border crossings of Cilvegozu and Oncupinar, as well as to the Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria.
While the fall of the Assad dictatorship has restored a little hope to the Syrian people, the living conditions of refugees in neighboring countries also contribute to this wave of returns. This is particularly the case in Lebanon, which hosts over 770,000 Syrians registered with the UNHCR, the vast majority of whom are living in extremely difficult conditions, linked in particular to the economic crisis that has gripped the country since 2019.
But this long-awaited return to the country and the political transition underway are fraught with difficulties. Syria now finds itself in the grip of new power dynamics, with various factions currently controlling different regions of the country. Added to this is the uncertainty surrounding the policies of the new ruling order led by Abu Mohammed al-Joulani, founder and leader of the al-Nusra Front, which became the Levant Liberation Organization (Hayat Tahri al-Sham, HTC) in 2017, a group belonging to the Salafist jihadist movement.
“A peaceful transition is essential to enable refugees to return home safely,” said Rula Amin, spokeswoman at UNHCR's Regional Office for the Middle East, “respect for human rights and the safety of all people, regardless of their ethnicity or religion, are essential.”
