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More than half a million Syrian refugees have left Türkiye and returned to their homeland since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad's government last December, Interior Minister announced Saturday.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said approximately 550,000 Syrians have departed Türkiye following Assad's ouster on Dec. 8, 2024. The exodus has reduced Türkiye's Syrian refugee population to nearly 2.4 million, down from a peak of more than 3.5 million.
The returns mark a significant shift in one of the world's largest refugee populations, created by Syria's 13-year civil war that forced millions to flee their homes.
Türkiye has hosted more Syrian refugees than any other country since the conflict began in 2011, straining resources and becoming a contentious political issue domestically.
The United Nations refugee agency reported Friday that 1.16 million Syrians have returned to the country since Assad's regime fell, while an additional 1.9 million internally displaced people have been able to return to their homes within Syria.
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Despite these returns, the humanitarian crisis remains vast. According to U.N. figures, more than 7 million Syrians remain internally displaced within the country's borders, and some 4.5 million refugees continue living abroad.
The mass returns follow the dramatic end to Assad's 24-year rule, which came after a rapid rebel offensive that toppled the government structure his family had controlled for more than five decades.
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