?Syrian refugees take a coach bus heading to Syria in Beirut, Lebanon, Feb. 28, 2019. Around 1,700 Syrian refugees returned to their homeland on Thursday from different areas in Lebanon including Tripoli, Sidon, Nabatieh, Shabaa, Bourj Hammoud and Masnaa. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich)
DAMASCUS, Feb.28 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of Syrian refugees returned from Lebanon to Syria on Thursday, state news agency SANA reported.
A total of 22 buses transported the Syrian refugees into Syria and delivered them to their hometowns in the countryside of Homs Province in central Syria, as well as the countryside of the provinces of Aleppo, Hama, Deir al-Zour and Damascus.
According to SANA, dozens of batches of Syrian refugees have returned to Syria from Lebanon over the past few months after their areas were cleared of rebels.
More than 1 million Syrian refugees are registered with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Lebanon, while the Lebanese government estimated the true number of Syrians in the country at 1.5 million.
To facilitate the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland, Russia drafted a strategy and presented it to the Lebanese authorities.
The strategy aims at securing the return of 890,000 Syrian refugees to their homeland.
