Some 330 Syrian migrants returned to Syria from Lebanon on Tuesday in two separate convoys as part of the process of voluntary departures organized by General Security.
The return took place through the border crossings of Zamrani from Arsal in Lebanon towards Rif Damascus and Al-Qaa towards Rif Homs.
The returnees registered their names with General Security, enabling Syrians present in Lebanon, legally and illegally, to return to their country, at a time when “the General Directorate of General Security is keen to ensure their safe return,” the officer in charge of following up on the process in Arsal said, according to Markazia agency.
When asked, most Syrians who were leaving expressed their “satisfaction and thanked the General Security for helping them to return to their country safely.”
In an interview with the National News Agency, one of the departing women urged those who remained in Lebanon to return to Syria. Some of the departing Syrians who are receiving assistance from the UNHCR in Lebanon demanded that they receive this assistance in their country to help them resettle and establish a better living.
For his part, the Director General of General Security, Major General Elias Baissari, who is currently in Egypt, followed up with his officers in Arsal and Al-Qaa on the progress of the voluntary return process.
In a phone call with the National News Agency, he confirmed that “this convoy constitutes a new start to a long process that requires official sponsorship, follow-up and communication with the Syrian side and the UNHCR for proper implementation and putting this file on the track of a final solution.”
The voluntary departure convoys were escorted by patrols from the National Security and General Security Investigations Unit towards the Lebanese-Syrian border in coordination with Syrian security. They headed to villages in Western Qalamoun, the Damascus countryside and Damascus.
