Over 474,000 Syrians return home from Türkiye since last December

ANKARA

More than 474,00 Syrians who fled to Türkiye during the rule of Bashar al-Assad have returned home since he was overthrown in December 2024, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has announced.

Some 474,018 Syrians have returned to date, with the pace of returns accelerating in recent weeks, Yerlikaya said on X.

Since 2016, the number of Syrians who have voluntarily returned from Türkiye has reached 1.2 million, the minister noted.

"Türkiye, as it did yesterday, continues to stand by our Syrian brothers and sisters during the voluntary return process,” Yerlikaya expressed.

Around 2.5 million Syrian refugees still live in Türkiye, according to the latest figures, released in early August.

In 2021, Türkiye said up to 3.7 million Syrians had taken refuge in the country.

Days after the fall of the Assad regime, Türkiye reopened a border crossing with Syria to facilitate the return of refugees.

Last year, Türkiye also announced an initiative labeled as "pioneer migrants" to allow one family member to conduct up to three round trips prior to permanent resettlement.