8,000 Syrians return from Türkiye in 5 days after Assad's downfall

A total of 7,621 Syrian nationals voluntarily returned to their homeland between Dec. 9 and Dec. 13, following the downfall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, Türkiye's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Sunday.

In a statement on the social media platform X, Yerlikaya provided detailed accounts concerning the daily returns of Syrians -- 1,259 on Dec. 9, with 1,669, 1,293, 1,553, and 1,847 recorded in the following days.

Yerlikaya underscored that these Syrians' repatriation was conducted in a "voluntary, safe, dignified, and orderly manner."

A total of 2,938,261 Syrians are now "under temporary protection" in Türkiye, according to the minister.

Türkiye, hosting millions of Syrian refugees who fled civil war since 2011, has recently seen increasing returns of Syrian refugees after the fall of al-Assad and its government on Dec. 8.

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