damascus
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said more than 1.1 million people, the majority of whom are women and children, have been displaced since the war in Syria erupted on November 27.
“More than 1.1 million people, the majority of them women and children, have been displaced since the war in Syria escalated on November 27,” the IDP Task Force said. A statement issued by the organization said that about 640,000 people fled from Aleppo province, while 334,000 people fled from Idlib and 136,000 people fled from Hama.
It is noteworthy that the Syrian armed opposition captured the capital Damascus on Sunday. Russian officials said President Bashar Assad stepped down after talks with participants in the Syrian conflict and left Syria for Russia, where he was granted asylum. Mohammed al-Bashir (who ran the Idlib-based administration formed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other opposition groups) was then named interim prime minister on Tuesday.
13 years of civil war and 6 million refugees, Syrian people are living in these countries
On December 8, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia after 13 years of civil war in Syria. With this the 54 year old rule of the Assad family ended. Of these, 24 years belong to Bashar al-Assad himself. Following his ouster, Syrians celebrated across the world, including in the capital, Damascus. This celebration is especially important for the millions of Syrians who were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in other countries to escape the tragedy of the civil war.
However, with this change, the demand to send back Syrian refugees to European countries is also gaining momentum. Countries like Germany, France, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium and Britain have banned his asylum applications. After all, in which countries do most Syrian refugees live?
So many Syrians had to seek refuge in other countries
In 2011, when the rebellion against al-Assad began, Syria’s population was about 20 million. In the years that followed, approximately five lakh people were killed, more than one million were injured and approximately 13 million people fled their homes.
According to the UN report, by 2024, at least 7.4 million Syrians are internally displaced, of whom about 4.9 million are taking refuge in neighboring countries. Apart from this, 13 lakh people have mostly settled in Europe. Neighboring countries with the highest number of registered Syrian refugees include Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.
A large number of these refugees are also in European countries. According to a report by news magazine ‘Politico’, about 4.5 million Syrian people have come to Europe since 2015. The European Union (EU) has granted protection status to approximately 1.3 million Syrian refugees between 2015 and 2023.
Most refugees live in Turkey
Nearly half of Syria’s registered refugees, or 3.1 million, live in Turkey, which hosts the largest refugee population in the world. Türkiye is also a neighboring country of Syria, hence the Syrian people first took refuge here.
The Turkish government grants Syrians Temporary Protected Status, allowing them to live legally. But this does not give anyone citizenship of the country.
After that comes Lebanon at second place. Which provides shelter to approximately 7 lakh 74 thousand registered refugees. If unregistered persons are included in this, the total number becomes around 15 lakhs. One in five people in Lebanon is a Syrian refugee. Movement between the two countries was easy as an ID card was enough to cross the border. Therefore, refugees started taking refuge in Lebanon in large numbers and rapidly.
The third country is Germany. According to the United Nations, 7 lakh 16 thousand Syrian refugees live in Germany. Angela Merkel’s government has decided not to close Germany’s borders to refugees fleeing the Syrian civil war. At that time the atmosphere was that Germany would manage, however now things have changed a lot.
After that there is Iraq where 2 lakh 86 thousand people live. Then there is Egypt with 1 lakh 56 thousand refugees. After that there is Austria, Sweden, Netherlands and Greece.
Why the emphasis on sending refugees back to Europe?
Even before Assad was ousted from power, some countries were raising the issue of not giving asylum to Syrian refugees and sending them back. According to Al Jazeera, the biggest obstacle in this is the definition of a safe country set by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA).
In fact, section 4.3.2 of the EUAA states that in order to send an asylum applicant or refugee back to his/her country, it is necessary that the laws in that country are followed democratically, and political developments do not result in persecution, torture, or punishment. Reasons should not arise. Syria did not meet these standards. Now after Assad’s ouster, the issue of Syrian refugees has once again become hot.
However, according to UNHCR, there has been an increase in returns to Syria. In the first eight months of 2024, approximately 34,000 Syrian refugees were confirmed to have returned home. The number may be more than this.
