Overview

• UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi said more than two million Syrian refugees and displaced persons have returned since Islamist HTS forces toppled Bashar al-Assad’s government in December.
• After 14 years of civil war many returnees are finding their homes badly damaged or destroyed.
• Damascus is appealing for international donors to fund reconstruction following the lifting of Western sanctions.
• The United Nations estimates Syria’s rebuilding costs at over $400 billion.
• Lebanon’s deputy prime minister outlined a gradual return plan aiming to send up to 300,000 Syrians back by September with $100 payments as incentives.