Hundreds of Syrian refugees return home from Lebanon

Refugees are heading back home as part of a Russian deal that aims to return some 890,000 Syrians from Lebanon, a country of 4.5 million people.

A Syrian refugee boy who left Lebanon gestures as he arrives in Qalamoun, Syria on June 28, 2018.
Reuters

A Syrian refugee boy who left Lebanon gestures as he arrives in Qalamoun, Syria on June 28, 2018.

Hundreds of Syrian refugees crossed the border from Lebanon on Saturday, the latest group to return to Syria from its western neighbour.

Russia has put forward an initiative to return hundreds of thousands of refugees to Syria, and hundreds have returned from Lebanon over the past weeks.

The head of Lebanon's General Security Directorate Major General Abbas Ibrahim called on Syrian refugees to come to the directorate's offices to register their names to return home. 

He said the move will eventually end up returning "hundreds of thousands" to their homes.

He said that some delays were caused by vetting those that are wanted back home.

"We are insisting that no Syrian refugee returns home and then is detained," Ibrahim told reporters at the border.

Syria's war, in its seventh year, has killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced millions and created the world's worst refugee crises since WWII.

Russian initiative behind refugees' return

Syrian regime media said up to 1,200 Syrians are expected to end up returning on Saturday, adding that more than 30 Syrian buses crossed into Lebanon to bring them back home.

Many have returned from the northeastern Lebanese town of Arsal over the past weeks. Most of those heading home Saturday were coming from the southern Lebanese village of Chebaa.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Friday that the Russian initiative aims to return some 890,000 Syrians from Lebanon.

Lebanon is home to some 1 million Syrian refugees, a very large number for a country of 4.5 million people.

The Russian initiative was proposed following the summit in Helsinki between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, although it was not clear whether the US supported the proposal.

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