U.N. refugee chief Filippo Grandi announced Saturday that nearly 200,000 Syrian refugees have returned home since Bashar Assad's fall in early December, ahead of his regional visit.
According to figures published by Grandi on X, some 195,200 Syrians returned home between Dec. 8 and Jan. 16.
"Soon I will visit Syria - and its neighbouring countries - as UNHCR steps up its support to returnees and receiving communities," Grandi said.
Hundreds of thousands of Syrians had returned home last year as they fled Lebanon to escape Israeli attacks during its conflict with the Iran-backed group, Hezbollah.
Those returns came before a lightning offensive by anti-regime forces late last year ousted Assad, raising hopes of an end to a 13-year civil war that killed over half a million and sent millions seeking refuge abroad.
Türkiye, which shares a 900-kilometer (560-mile) border with Syria, hosts some over 3 million Syrians who have fled since 2011.
Turkish authorities, who are hoping to see many of those refugees return, are allowing one member of each refugee family to make three round trips until July 1, 2025, to prepare for their resettlement.
