Over 7,600 Syrian Refugees Make Their Way Back Home from Turkey in Just Five Days Post-Assad's Fall

Ankara, Dec 15 (NationPress) A total of 7,621 Syrian individuals voluntarily made their way back to their homeland from December 9 to December 13, following the collapse of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, as reported by Turkey's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya on Sunday.

In a statement shared on the social media platform X, Yerlikaya offered a detailed account of the daily repatriations, noting 1,259 on December 9, followed by 1,669, 1,293, 1,553, and 1,847 in the subsequent days, according to Xinhua news agency.

Yerlikaya emphasized that the repatriation process was carried out in a "voluntary, safe, dignified, and orderly manner".

The minister stated that currently, there are 2,938,261 Syrians under temporary protection in Turkey.

Turkey, which has been accommodating millions of Syrian refugees fleeing civil war since 2011, has recently observed a rise in the number of returning refugees following the fall of al-Assad and his government on December 8.

On Monday morning, hundreds of refugees crossed at the Cilvegozu border crossing, situated about 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Aleppo, Syria's second-largest city, with interior ministry data indicating that 1,259 crossed that day.

Subsequent crossings included 1,669 on Tuesday, 1,293 on Wednesday, 1,553 on Thursday, and 1,847 on Friday.

Within 48 hours of the fall of Assad, Turkey ramped up its daily crossing capacity from 3,000 to between 15,000 and 20,000, Yerlikaya mentioned earlier this week.

Turkey shares a 900-kilometer (560-mile) border with Syria featuring five operational crossings, and plans to open a sixth crossing in the far west to "ease the traffic".

With anti-Syrian sentiments prevalent in Turkish society, Ankara is eager to facilitate the return of as many refugees as possible to their homeland.

Approximately 1.24 million, or about 42 percent, of these individuals originate from the Aleppo region, according to the interior ministry.