Around 25% of displaced Syrians living in camps in northern Syria have returned to their home areas since the launch of the “Syria Without Camps” initiative in May, Deputy Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Ahmed Ekzayez told Asharq Al-Awsat. Ekzayez explained that the initiative goes beyond closing displacement camps, focusing instead on restoring conditions in areas of origin to enable safe, voluntary, and dignified returns. This includes rehabilitating hospitals, clinics, schools, water and sanitation networks, communications and roads, alongside creating employment opportunities for returnees. Hundreds of Families Return Home The Syrian Civil Defense reported that approximately 233 families left displacement camps in northern Idlib on Sunday for their home areas in Rural Damascus, Latakia, Homs, Deir Ezzor, Hama and the southern and eastern Idlib countryside. The returns were organized under the auspices of Idlib governorate, in cooperation with social affairs and emergency management authorities, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the Muzn Organization and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. A UN delegation attended the aid distribution. Most returning families originated from southern Idlib and northern Hama, according to the official SANA news agency. Meanwhile, the Al-Rasm al-Jadid and Al-Rasm al-Qadim camps in Manbij, eastern Aleppo province, were officially closed after approximately 108 displaced families returned to their home areas in Aleppo and Idlib. Aleppo’s Directorate of Social Affairs and Labor confirmed the closures following the departure of the final convoy on Sunday. The Civil Defense Directorate reported that additional voluntary return convoys departed camps in the Idlib and Aleppo countryside under the supervision of the national committee overseeing the “Syria Without Camps” initiative. Emergency and Disaster Management Ministry teams helped secure the convoys and provide healthcare services. The operations form part of efforts to implement Decree No. 59, which provides for rehabilitating damaged areas and creating suitable conditions for displaced residents to return. Plan to Close Camps by 2027 The Syrian government launched its “Syria Without Camps” initiative on May 9, 2026, aiming to resolve internal displacement and dismantle camps by September 2027. More than 200 camps were closed over the past year, but approximately 140,000 families, representing more than 700,000 people, remained in camps as of September 2026. Speaking Friday at a UN side event on reconstruction and sustainable solutions to internal displacement following widespread destruction caused by conflict and disasters, Syria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ibrahim Olabi, appealed for international assistance. He emphasized the need to rebuild affected communities, restore essential services and create livelihoods to support sustainable returns. Olabi maintained that the government had addressed the root causes of internal displacement but warned that ensuring lasting returns would require substantial resources. He also cautioned that the actions of Israeli forces in southern Syria were generating a new wave of displacement. Sharp Decline in Northern Camps Before the fall of the Assad government, northern Syria had more than 1,500 displacement camps and shelters, including 1,146 camps in Idlib alone. Over nearly two years, the number of camps in the north fell to approximately 1,025, comprising 634 in Idlib and 391 in Aleppo. The number of displaced families living in northern camps also declined from 261,000 to around 140,000, including approximately 82,000 in Idlib and 55,000 in Aleppo. Across Syria, however, some 1,247 camps and shelters remain, underscoring the scale of the challenge facing authorities as they seek to end prolonged displacement.
