Damascus, Sept. 28 (SANA) More than 1.38 million displaced Syrians have left camps and displacement sites since December 2024, with returns accelerating in recent months but putting growing pressure on services in communities receiving them, the U.N. humanitarian office said.
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report Sunday that 38,836 displaced people left such sites in July and August. About 19,600 received assistance to facilitate their return.
During the same period, 130 displacement sites ceased operations. More than 60,000 people have received return assistance since the beginning of the year, OCHA said.
The number of displaced people living in sites tracked by the agency fell from about 2.2 million to 773,000 by August 2026, according to the report.
OCHA said the figures reflected a significant shift in return movements, while communities receiving returnees faced increasing pressure on essential services.
The report said rehabilitation work was underway on housing, roads, bakeries, health and education facilities and water, electricity and irrigation networks in several areas. Agricultural activity and local markets were also resuming in some communities.
OCHA linked sustainable returns to continued improvements in infrastructure, housing and basic services, as well as access to livelihoods, which it said were needed to support dignified and lasting returns.
The report comes as the Syrian government promotes its “Syria Without Camps” initiative, which calls for voluntary and sustainable returns to homes and land.
Emergency and Disaster Management Minister Raed al-Saleh presented the initiative while participating in the Syrian delegation to the 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.
R.D/ABD