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                                                                                         WORLD NEWS Wednesday 12 december 2018


















            Russia says 114,000 Syrians returned home in 2018




            By  VLADIMIR  ISHACHEN-      national  community  con-    in  safety  and  dignity”  said  stacles  to  their  return  are  support  of  Syrian  President
            KOV                          tinues  to  recognize  the  Amin  Awad,  the  U.N.  refu-  removed.  Those  obstacles  Bashar  Assad,  has  pushed
            SARAH EL DEEB                plight  of  Syrian  refugees  gee  agency  director  for  include safety concerns for  for the repatriation of refu-
            Associated Press             and  provides  vital  support  the  Middle  East  and  North  those  who  have  fled  gov-  gees. Russian and Syrian of-
            MOSCOW  (AP)  —  Nearly                                                                                             ficials have accused West-
            114,000   Syrian   refugees                                                                                         ern  governments  of  block-
            have  returned  home  this                                                                                          ing  the  return  of  refugees
            year,  the  Russian  military                                                                                       and  reconstruction  aid  to
            said Tuesday, a mere frac-                                                                                          Syria.
            tion  of  the  nearly  6  million                                                                                   The U.S. and other Europe-
            who have fled the country                                                                                           an nations have said return
            since the start of the seven-                                                                                       of refugees must be volun-
            year conflict. U.N. agencies                                                                                        tary,  saying  it  is  too  early
            said  they  need  $5.5  billion                                                                                     in the course of the war to
            in the coming year to sup-                                                                                          encourage refugees to go
            port Syria’s neighbors host-                                                                                        home.  Some  say  an  inclu-
            ing the refugees.                                                                                                   sive  political  process  is  a
            The U.N. said Tuesday that                                                                                          prerequisite for reconstruc-
            Syria’s  neighbors,  Leba-                                                                                          tion funding.
            non,  Turkey,  Jordan,  Egypt                                                                                       The  repatriations  demon-
            and  Iraq,  are  hosting  the                                                                                       strate that “the war is over
            majority  of  the  Syrian  refu-                                                                                    and  the  country’s  restora-
            gees,  while  dealing  with                                                                                         tion  is  proceeding  at  full
            their  own  economic  and                                                                                           pace,”  said  Russian  Col.
            social challenges. The U.N.                                                                                         Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, who
            refugee  agency,  UNHCR,                                                                                            added  that  over  177,000
            however, said it has verified                                                                                       internally displaced people
            only  around  37,000  refu-                                                                                         have also returned to their
            gees  who  have  voluntarily   In this June 5, 2014, file photo, a man rides a bicycle through a part of Homs, Syria, devastated by   homes in 2018.
            returned to Syria in 2018.   the country’s civil war.                                                               The  conflict,  which  began
            The  agency  also  said  that                                                                      Associated Press  with  a  peaceful  uprising
            over  the  last  eight  years                                                                                       against  Assad  in  2011,  has
            around  one  million  Syrian  to  host  governments  and  Africa.                      ernment  areas  or  military  displaced half of Syria’s 23
            children  were  born  in  the  (U.N.  agencies  and  NGO)  Awad  said  the  U.N.  is  pro-  conscriptions, availability of  million people, including an
            region  and  registered  as  partners  to  help  shoulder  jecting  that  up  to  250,000  services and other issues.  estimated  5.6  million  refu-
            refugees.                    this  massive  burden,  while  refugees  could  be  return-  Russia, which has waged a  gees  living  in  neighboring
            “It  is  critical  that  the  inter-  waiting for voluntary return  ing to Syria next year if ob-  military campaign in 2015 in  countries.q
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