The return of more than 3 million Syrians from different areas inside and outside the country since December 2024 has brought international calls for support for Syria's recovery process to the forefront. UN High Commissioner for Refugees Berhem Salih said in a statement at the end of a week-long visit to Syria that the returns were continuing.
Salih said the returning Syrians had demonstrated their determination to rebuild their country. Saying that Syria was at a historic turning point, Salih stated that the momentum created by the returns needed to be strengthened through concrete support.
Call for support to make returns sustainable
Emphasizing that carrying out the recovery process on this scale was a task too large for Syria to undertake alone, Salih called on governments and development and financial institutions to act quickly.
Salih called on the international community to increase its support for recovery efforts, livelihoods, and the reconstruction of infrastructure and basic services. Salih also called for continued assistance to address humanitarian needs, saying that support needed to be strengthened to make the return of Syrians sustainable.
Stops on Salih's visit to Syria
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said the visit reflected its determination to support Syria's transition from displacement to recovery, reintegration and stability.
Salih visited the capital, Damascus, as well as Idlib in the northwest and Aleppo province in the north. In these areas, Salih met with government officials, displaced families, returnees and representatives of local communities, assessing progress and ongoing challenges.
In Damascus, he also met with Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa, Foreign Minister Ahmed al-Shibani and several government officials.
Syria's displacement crisis
On May 9, 2026, Ahmed Sharaa launched the “Syria Without Camps” plan, which aims to end internal displacement in the country completely and dismantle all camps. The plan aims to achieve lasting solutions by 2027.
Millions of civilians were displaced inside and outside Syria during the conflicts between 2011 and 2024. Some of those displaced continued to live in harsh conditions in camps in the north.
According to field data, approximately 1 million displaced Syrians are living in camps in the north of the country. The region has a total of 1,150 camps, including 801 camps in the Idlib countryside and 349 in the Aleppo countryside.
On December 8, 2024, armed groups that entered Damascus announced the end of Bashar al-Assad's rule. Assad had governed the country from 2000 to 2024.
