Up To 300,000 Refugees Returned To Syria From Abroad In Last 2.5 Years - Russian Military

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th August, 2018) Up to 300,000 Syrians have returned to the country from abroad and another 1.2 million internally displaced persons returned to their homes over the past 2.5 years, the head of Russias National Defense Control Center, Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev, said on Wednesday.

"Over 1.2 million internally displaced persons have already returned to their homes in the Syrian Arab Republic over the past 2.5 years, and up to 300,000 returned from abroad," Mizintsev said at a meeting of the interdepartmental headquarters for the return of refugees to Syria.

The process of refugees' return from Lebanon proceeds in the most effective way, as more than 6,500 people returned to from this country to Syria within just one month.

Last Friday, Mizintsev said, referring to UN data, that around 890,000 Syrian refugees would return to their homes in Syria in the coming months.

Syria has been in a state of civil war since 2011, with the government forces fighting against numerous opposition groups and terrorist organizations. Russia along with Turkey and Iran are guarantors of the ceasefire in Syria.

Russia is actively helping Syria achieve nationwide peace. As part of its efforts, the Russian military announced in late July the creation of a refugee center in Syria that would receive, relocate and accommodate civilians who repatriated from neighboring states.