UN refugee chief wants more international help for Syria’s displaced
The UN refugee commissioner has called for more humanitarian assistance in Syria, especially for displaced people returning to their homes.
Filippo Grandi, who is on a two-day visit to Syria, said those returning needed schools, hospitals and infrastructure.
“Families spoke of years of suffering and they are exhausted,” he said.
As part of its work to help find solutions to displacement, the UN refugee agency wants to increase the selfreliance of refugees and displaced people to reduce their dependency on aid.
“Periods that follow conflicts are always extremely complex,” Mr Grandi said during a visit to Homs governorate in western Syria.
The region was the site of fierce battles and a three-year siege between opposition fighters and government forces between 2011 and 2015.
Homs, Syria’s third-largest city before the conflict, was an early centre of the popular uprising against President Bashar Al Assad in 2011 that led to the civil war in which hundreds of thousands of people have been killed.
The Syrian government regained full control of the city in 2017.
More than 13 million Syrians have been displaced in the past 10 years.
About 6.7 million are displaced inside the country and 5.5 million are hosted in five neighbouring countries, the UNHCR said.
Economic crises in the region, compounded by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, a sharp devaluation of local currencies and rising prices have created challenges for displaced people and have stretched their ability to cope to the limit.
During his visit, Mr Grandi met Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and Minister of Local Administration and Environment Hussein Makhlouf to discuss issues related to the return of people to their homes, including how to address refugees’ concerns, the UNHCR said.
“These are Syrian nationals and it’s the government’s responsibility to ensure their security,” Mr Grandi said.
“We are engaging with the government to highlight refugees’ concerns, such as their safety, property rights and livelihoods. We also need the international community to help as well.”
Homs, the third-largest city in Syria before the conflict, was an early centre of the uprising against Bashar Al Assad