Turkish VP reveals over 145,000 Syrians returned home since December

Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz announced that between December 9, 2024, and March 16, 2025, 145,639 Syrians, displaced by the civil war, voluntarily and safely returned to their home country from Türkiye.

The announcement was made in a statement on social media, citing data from the Migration Management, Caliber.Az reports, citing Turkish media.

The total number of Syrians who have returned to their homeland since 2017 now stands at 885,642.

Yılmaz emphasised that migration data is dynamic and subject to daily changes. "In my speech yesterday, I stated that as of March 6, the total number of returns had reached 873,000. According to the Migration Management Directorate, 145,639 Syrians voluntarily and safely returned between December 9, 2024 and March 16, 2025. The overall number of returns from 2017 to 2025 now totals 885,642," he explained.

He highlighted that in the early stages of the return process, Syrians were repatriated to safe zones created through cross-border operations. The process then accelerated following the fall of the dictatorial regime.

With ongoing reconstruction efforts in Syria, improvements in security conditions, basic services, and the economy, it is anticipated that the pace of returns will continue to increase.

Note that, as of February 2025, Syria continues to face one of the world's largest displacement crises, with over 14 million people forced to flee their homes since the onset of the conflict in 2011. The country's children have suffered severe hardships, including ongoing violence, widespread displacement, health emergencies, and the devastating earthquake of 2023.

The conflict's intensification in northwest Syria in late November 2024 led to the displacement of an additional 1 million people, primarily women and children, further jeopardising their safety and well-being.

On December 8, 2024, the Assad regime collapsed following a significant offensive by opposition forces led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). 

The fall of Damascus marked the end of the Assad family's decades-long rule, which had been a hereditary totalitarian dictatorship since Hafez al-Assad came to power in 1971 after a coup.

By Aghakazim Guliyev