ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - More than 5.7 million people remain internally displaced across Syria despite more than two million returning to their areas of origin since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime late 2024, a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday, warning that major challenges continue to hinder sustainable returns.
“According to IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), there are currently approximately 5.73 million internally displaced persons in Syria, while an estimated 2.19 million individuals have returned to their areas of origin since December 2024,” the spokesperson told Rudaw's Niyaz Mustafa in response to an email.
The UN migration agency said displacement conditions vary across Syria and that while conditions for newly returned people are generally favorable, significant obstacles remain.
“Although return conditions generally remain favourable for newly arrived individuals, many challenges persist, including psychological distress, limited access to services, lack of legal documentation, child protection risks, community safety concerns, and family separation,” the spokesperson said.
Access to basic services, jobs and sources of income remain among the most pressing concerns for people returning home, including in northeast Syria (Rojava), according to the agency.
Millions of Syrians were forced from their homes during more than a decade of conflict, with displacement particularly affecting areas that witnessed repeated fighting and changes in territorial control.
Asked whether the organization could assist displaced Kurds in returning to their cities and villages, IOM said its assistance is provided according to humanitarian needs rather than ethnicity.
“IOM supports voluntary, safe, dignified, and informed returns where conditions permit, and does not differentiate assistance on the basis of ethnicity or other protected characteristics,” the spokesperson said.
“Assistance is provided based on humanitarian needs, vulnerabilities, national priorities, and available resources,” they added.
IOM said it coordinates its activities with the Syrian government as well as other UN agencies, civil society organizations and local communities.
“Across all our interventions, we coordinate closely with the Government of Syria and work in collaboration with UN partners, civil society organizations, and local communities,” the spokesperson said.
