The German newspaper Welt am Sonntag reported, citing data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), that approximately 1.6 million Syrians have returned to their country since the fall of the Assad regime, the majority of them coming from neighboring countries. The report noted that Germany is not listed separately in UNHCR data but is instead included the category of “other countries,” from which around 6,100 individuals have returned.
According to the newspaper, most returnees originated from Syria’s neighboring states. As of April 16, 2026, around 634,000 Syrians had returned from Turkey, 621,000 from Lebanon, and 284,000 from Jordan.
The report also highlighted that, since the fall of the regime, debate has intensified within Germany regarding the future of Syrian refugees. Politicians from the Social Democratic Party, the Green Party, and the Left Party have recently called for allowing temporary visits to Syria to assess conditions on the ground and explore prospects for potential return.
Meanwhile, Daniel Thym, a professor of asylum law in Germany, stated that reassessing asylum applications is possible. He explained that cases involving certain groups—such as single Sunni Arab men without additional risk factors—could be reviewed individually to determine whether their protection status might be revoked.
