The head of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, has called for increased international support for Syria in order to accelerate reconstruction efforts and facilitate the return of more refugees, after nearly 14 years of civil war.
“I am here also to appeal to the international community to provide more aid, more assistance to the Syrian government in this major challenge of rebuilding the country,” Grandi told reporters during a visit to Damascus.
Syrians who were displaced internally or had fled abroad have gradually begun returning to their homes since December, following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad from power. Assad’s brutal crackdown on peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 triggered the long and devastating civil war.
However, widespread destruction, including of basic infrastructure, remains a significant barrier to the return of Syrians.
Grandi stated that over 2 million people have returned to their areas of origin — including around 1.5 million internally displaced people and approximately 600,000 who have come back from neighboring countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey.
“Two million is, of course, only a small fraction of the vast number of Syrian refugees and displaced persons, but it is still a very significant figure,” he said, as reported by RFE/RL.
According to the UNHCR, nearly 13.5 million Syrians remain displaced both inside and outside the country.
The conflict in Syria displaced about half of the pre-war population, with many of the internally displaced seeking shelter in camps in the country’s northwest.
Grandi said that following Assad’s fall, the main obstacles to people returning are “lack of services, lack of housing, and lack of jobs,” adding that his agency is working with Syrian authorities and regional governments “to help people return.”
With the lifting of Western sanctions, Syria’s new authorities are hopeful for international support to begin reconstruction efforts. The UN has estimated that rebuilding Syria will require more than $400 billion.
