Over 4,800 Syrians return home 'voluntarily' — minister

AMMAN — Minister of Interior Mazen Faraya said that 34,690 Syrians have returned back home since the fall of Bashar Assad's regime, of which over 4,800 were living in camps.

Two days before the ouster of Assad on December 8, Jordan closed the Jaber border crossing with Syria due to heightened security concerns in the northern neighbour.

Since then, the Ministry of Interior has issued travel regulations for selected groups that are permitted to use the Jaber crossing under certain conditions.

Permitted groups include Jordanian investors with registered commercial capital, bank employees working in Syria, and businessmen who are members of the Syrian chambers of industry and commerce.

In addition, Jordanian students enrolled at Syrian universities are allowed to cross, provided they have the necessary academic documents. Official Jordanian delegations, including economic missions, are also permitted.

For Syrians, access is granted to investors and their families holding Jordanian business registrations, as well as Syrians who have obtained Jordanian citizenship.

The move aims to facilitate travel for these groups, boost the economies of both Jordan and Syria, and enhance commercial movement between the two countries. It also aims to support Syria’s stability and encourage the resumption of normal life by easing travel through the Jaber border crossing.

In a report in mid-January, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported a "significant" increase in the number of Syrian refugees returning home from Jordan in 2024.

The total number of returnees reached approximately 17,200, including 5,100 who returned in December alone, the UNHCR said, noting that there were more returnees in December 2024 than in the whole of 2023, which totalled around 4,400.

According to official figures, Jordan is home to around 1.3 million Syrians, including nearly 660,000 refugees registered UNHCR, out of more than 5 million Syrian refugees in Jordan and neighboring countries.

In its latest figures, UNHCR estimates that more than 125,000 Syrians have returned home from host countries since the fall of Assad, noting that the main destinations for returnees include Aleppo, Raqqa and Draa, the birthplace of Syrian uprising in 2011.