(Adnkronos) – UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi has called for “a global effort” to help Syrians since longtime dictator Bashar-al Assad’s ouster in December, ending a 14-year-old civil war that triggered a major humanitarian crisis in their country.
“In Aleppo, I spoke to Syrian returnees about their challenges,” Grandi wrote Monday on X (formerly Twitter).
As of 23 January, UNHCR estimates that almost 210,000 Syrians returned to their homeland since Assad fled abroad on 8 December.
“People here need lifesaving help – like shelter, but to rebuild their lives, they need much more: jobs, healthcare, schools, services,” Grandi continued.
Grandi reported “a real sense of hope” in the war-ravaged country however, where conflict forced over 13 million people from their homes.
“There is a real sense of hope here,” Grandi wrote.
“To sustain it requires a global effort,” he underlined.
More than seven million people remain uprooted within Syria where they face inadequate health care, a lack water and power and other services, hunger and malnutrition, disease outbreaks, insecurity and damaged infrastructure.
Grandi arrived in Syria on 24 January as part of a visit to the region to discuss with Syria’s de facto authorities and Syrian refugee hosting countries how best to support people who are voluntarily returning home.
Over six million Syrians are currently living as refugees, most in neighbouring countries, according to the UN.
A UNHCR survey of a sample 3,400 Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt this month found that 27% of refugees in the region plan to return home within the next year.