The Syrian regime government has prepared 20 centers to shelter Lebanese displaced persons and Syrians returning from Lebanon due to Israeli escalation.

The local Al-Watan newspaper reported today, Monday, October 14, that the Minister of Local Administration and Environment, Louay Khreita, stated that the number of prepared shelters for the displaced has reached 20, of which 16 centers received “arrivals,” while the other four have not yet received any “arrivals.”

The largest number of displaced Lebanese and returning Syrians is concentrated in rural Damascus, followed by Homs, and then the rest of the provinces.

According to Khreita, “many of the arrivals are staying in residential apartments and hotels,” in addition to the presence of community initiatives to accommodate some of the “arrivals.”

The number of Syrians and Lebanese coming from Lebanon and residing in rural Damascus reached 163,000 Syrians and 47,000 Lebanese, according to Bassam Saada, head of the Relief and International Organizations Office in Rural Damascus.

The total number of arrivals is about 400,000 Syrians and Lebanese, according to Sonia Afisa, Director of Planning and International Cooperation at the Ministry of Local Administration and Environment.

Regime promotes their reception

Waves of displaced persons from Lebanon across official and unofficial borders have continued following Israel’s escalation of bombings in several Lebanese areas since September 21.

The regime promoted the reception of those coming from Lebanon through its institutions and tools, including the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the Syria Trust for Development, among other organizations.

Ayman al-Dusouki, a researcher in local administration and political economy at the Omaran Center for Strategic Studies, does not see that the economic situation, services, and security conditions, as well as the capabilities of Syrian regime institutions, enable them to accommodate large numbers of displaced Lebanese and Syrians returning from Lebanon.

This may have pushed many of them to not settle in areas controlled by the regime and to head to neighboring countries or areas outside its control, according to what al-Dusouki previously told Enab Baladi.

Opposition-controlled areas in northwestern Syria received about 2,700 returning Syrians from Lebanon as of October 10, while areas under the control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) received about 19,500 people as of October 13.

Enab Baladi has prepared a report addressing the reasons behind the regime’s sudden shift on its prior conditions for the return of Syrian refugees, the capabilities of its institutions to accommodate more refugees, and the impact of the war in Lebanon on the Syrian economy.

After years of opposition to the return of refugees to Syria, citing the lack of infrastructure and the need to start reconstruction before receiving returnees, the government has begun providing facilities for hundreds of thousands of Syrians and Lebanese arriving at the border.