These figures were presented during a meeting in Damascus between the Deputy Prime Minister for Services Affairs and Local Government, Omar Ghalawanyi, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.
The number of displaced who returned to territories liberated from terrorists, were joined by more than 10,000 who were staying in temporary shelters in the northern province of Lattakia and the Qadam area, south of Damascus.
For the Syrian government, the main objective in the near future is the return of the displaced to their liberated areas, which requires rehabilitating the infrastructure of these areas and revive the local economy.
In this context, the Syrian minister highlighted the concern to ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance to all those in need of permanent and systematic through the Higher Relief Affairs Committee and its subcommittees in the provinces.
Ghalawanji appreciated the role of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in supporting the efforts with a view to creating conditions for the return of displaced persons to their homes.
In this regard, he stressed the importance of the work begun in the historic center of the city of Homs, located about 162 kilometers north of Damascus, where more than a million people lived and was devastated by the terrorist occupation of the ISIL.
Both Grandi and Ghalawanij agreed that this experience will be gradually extended to other provinces of Syria.
In the aforementioned meeting, the minister claimed that despite all efforts, the terrorist groups prevent access to places like Kafreya, Al Foa, in the province of Idleb, and in Deir Ezzor, in addition to manipulating food aid and medicines for their own gain.
We will make every effort and the necessary conditions for the humanitarian organizations to reach the victims without any discrimination or politicization, the minister said.
Grandi, in turn, referred to the importance of his visit to Syria, which lets him examine closely the humanitarian efforts of the UN and its partners, as well as the situation of internally displaced persons and the services provided to them.
I reiterate that UNHCR, together with the International Red Cross and the Red Crescent in Syria, among others, will continue cooperating with the government to advance the humanitarian work being done.
Grandi, in his two-day stay in Syria, also held talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Mikdad. He also toured the camp of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in Zahera, Damascus, where he delivered seven ambulances as a gift.
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