Refugee Returns Surge from Turkey, Lag in Germany Nine Months After Assad’s Fall
THE SYRIAN OBSERVER
September 8, 2025
Only 1,867 people have returned from Germany with government support this year.
Only 1,867 people have returned from Germany with government support this year.
The extension follows the court’s earlier intervention in August, when it imposed a temporary halt under an urgent “interim measure.”
The initiative centres on the rehabilitation of 16 villages in the province’s eastern region, with the goal of reducing pressure on overcrowded temporary shelters, Baladi News writes.
The UNHCR has warned that insufficient funding threatens the sustainability of these returns.
For many, returning to Syria was not a homecoming, but the beginning of a new estrangement, Hamdan Al-Ukla writes in Syria TV.
The economic and security pressures on this group have worsened over recent months, al-Modon writes.
Judge Koller condemned the defendant’s actions as “serious human rights violations” and underlined that the ruling sends a clear message: “the victims’ suffering has not been forgotten.”
Highlighting the reopening of the Al-Arida border crossing with Lebanon, Alloush stated that it has recorded over 20,000 entries and exits since its resumption, according to Ultra Syria.
Respondents attributed their reluctance primarily to the lack of suitable housing and the ongoing deterioration of security and economic conditions within Syria, al-Modon writes.
Syrian lawyer and human rights advocate Anwar al-Bunni, head of the Syrian Center for Legal Studies and Research, celebrated the verdict, Al-Hal writes.
An in-depth analysis of the hopes, hurdles, and hard truths facing returnees
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser clarified that the agreement does not yet include concrete plans or a set timeline for deportations, noting that conditions in Syria remain “unpredictable and volatile,” despite Damascus’s control over large parts of the country.
The minister noted that the pace of voluntary returns has significantly accelerated following the regime’s downfall on 8 December 2024.
The UNHCR estimates that 16.7 million people—roughly 90% of Syria’s population—still require some form of humanitarian aid. Additionally, more than 7.4 million people remain internally displaced.
Cevdet Yılmaz further expressed confidence that, with strong support from Turkey, Syria would become a stable, strong, and prosperous nation.
The discussions reportedly focus on 974,000 Syrian refugees currently residing in Germany, Syria TV writes.
A report by the Syrian Network for Human Rights highlights dire conditions in Roumieh, including overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and unfair trials based on confessions extracted under torture.
Iraqi authorities identified 93 mass graves believed to contain the remains of Yazidi victims, with 32 graves still unopened in Sinjar and Al-Ba’aj.
Before the fall of Assad, 94% of Syrians who arrived in Germany between 2013 and 2019 expressed a desire to stay permanently, according to Syria TV.
The return of Syrians presents a unique opportunity to revitalize a long-scarred nation.
