1 million Syrians may return in first half of 2025: UN

GENEVA

The United Nations announced on Dec. 17 that it anticipates nearly 1 million individuals will return to Syria between January and June of 2025 after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

"We have forecasted that we hope to see somewhere in the order of 1 million Syrians returning between January and June of next year," Rema Jamous Imseis, the Middle East and North Africa director for the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, told a press briefing in Geneva.

In a separate report released on Dec. 17, the UNHCR emphasized the urgent need for $310 million to address “the critical needs of up to 1 million Syrian refugees expected to return to Syria in the first half of the next year through spontaneous or government-coordinated movements from neighboring countries.”

This funding would also support 200,000 members of local communities hosting the returnees, along with internally displaced persons, in collaboration with U.N. agencies and partner organizations.

The U.N. agency stressed the importance of host countries upholding Syrians’ right to voluntary and unpressured returns, clarifying that it is not advocating for large-scale repatriations at this time due to ongoing uncertainties in Syria.