Syria's Chargé d'Affaires in Amman urges refugees to return home

AMMAN — Chargé d'Affaires at the Damascus Embassy urged Syrian refugees in Jordan to return home, assuring them that all measures were taken to ensure safe and facilitated homecoming. 

During a meeting with a delegation of Syrian tribal leaders, Chargé d’Affaires Shafiq Dayoub said that the general pardon law Damascus issued in September last year "opened the door to the return of all refugees, regardless of their conditions and the circumstances surrounding their departure from Syria".

The delegation comprised notables from Daraa, Raqqa and Aleppo, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

Dayoub said that the Syrian Embassy in Amman is open to all Syrians and provides all consulate services and documents needed to enable the return of refugees. 

Citing the UNHCR figures, the diplomat said that a total of 155,000 Syrians in the Kingdom have returned home since the re-opening of the Nasib/Jaber border crossing between the two countries in October last year, 32,000 of which are registered as refugees.

The embassy is in contact with the Jordanian government and the UNHCR’s Amman office to facilitate and support the return of the refugees, Dayoub said, noting that this would alleviate the burdens on Jordan's economy, according to Petra.

The Kingdom has always voiced its commitment to the principle of voluntary return of Syrian refugees and has taken the necessary measures to facilitate their departure should they choose it.

A recent UNHCR survey showed that 75.2 per cent of Syrian refugees in regional countries expressed their wish for voluntary repatriation.