Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Wednesday that the number of Syrian refugees who left for home after the fall of the oppressive Assad regime on Dec. 9 has reached 250,064.
Overall, more than 1.1 million Syrians have departed since 2016. Türkiye has been home to millions from its southern neighbor as the Assad regime escalated attacks on the opposition and the country’s civil war dragged on. At one point, Türkiye was home to the largest Syrian refugee community in the world.
Yerlikaya told broadcaster CNN Türk that they adhered to their policy of ensuring “voluntary, safe, dignified” returns for Syrians.
“We have more than 2.7 million Syrians under temporary protection status,” he said.
The minister reiterated President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s earlier remarks about facilitating returns for “Syrian brothers and sisters” after the fall of Syria’s brutal regime. “We contacted nongovernmental organizations here and in Syria on how to proceed with returns. It was winter, and we also had refugee children attending school here. We discussed how best we can ensure the returns. Some refugees volunteered to be pioneers, to check whether their houses or lands still stood after 13 years of war. So, we issued permits for 27,000 pioneer refugees for travel back and forth three times from Syria to Türkiye and vice versa, between Jan. 1 and July 1. They are there now. Soon, schools will close for the summer, and we expect more returns,” he said.
The country’s border crossings with Syria teemed with refugees within days of the fall of Damascus, the last bastion of Baathist resistance, with families rushing to return home after years of civil war. Ankara mobilized its border crossings when Syrians spontaneously streamed toward the border, which had been occasionally shut down during the civil war, and streamlined the procedures for returnees.
Syria's civil war killed over half a million people and left the country in desperate need of reconstruction. Western sanctions imposed on Assad were recently lifted, paving the way for a potential recovery.
Addressing the Syrian people on Tuesday, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said they "let us seize the available opportunity and take on this duty."
"Let our slogan be as we raised it before, we do not rest and we do not relax until we rebuild Syria anew and boast about it to the entire world," he said.
A thriving economy is essential to encourage returns.
"All stars appear to be aligned for Syria's economy to be revived, but it will definitely take some time," Ömer Özkızılcık, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Syria Project, told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Tuesday. "In the next one to two years, Syria's economy will not be good, but it will be decent. It will not be a catastrophe, at least."
Several factors underpin his outlook, including the return of foreign investments, improved governance under a new administration, and the surprising speed at which international sanctions have been lifted.
"I expect that Syria's reconstruction will cost less than the U.N. anticipates," he said, referring to the figure of $400 billion cited based on U.N. field studies and assessments.
"The Syrian people are very determined to rebuild their country. There is the will. You have the diaspora, international actors, regional states who want to help Syria, and ... sanctions being lifted in a record time, which no one expected so soon." He added that many foreign countries and companies can now invest in Syria, which will help rebuild the country and enable them to make a profit out of these investments.
Syria's vast diaspora, particularly refugees who gained education and work experience abroad, is now seen as an asset for reconstruction.
"The Syrian refugees have the know-how. They have gained an education. They have gained experience in Türkiye, in EU countries," said Özkızılcık. "With them going back or establishing transnational enterprises, the Syrian economy will also revive."
Baraa Khurfan, a non-resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP), emphasized the need for investments in basic infrastructure.
Approximately 70% of Syria's infrastructure has been destroyed since 2011, he noted, adding that restoring transportation, electricity, water systems and health care will be essential for restarting economic activity.
