Hundreds of Syrian refugees line up at Turkish border crossing, await return home after Assad regime collapses

TURKEY: Hundreds of Syrian refugees gathered at two border crossings in southern Turkey on Monday, eagerly anticipating their return home following the fall of President Bashar Assad's government.

Many arrived at the Cilvegozu and Oncupinar border gates at daybreak, draped in blankets and coats. Some camped by border barriers, warming themselves with makeshift fires or resting on the cold ground. The crossings correspond to the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salameh gates on the Syrian side of the border.

Among those waiting at Cilvegozu was 28-year-old Muhammed Zin, who was excited at the prospect of returning home. He fled Damascus in 2016 and has been living and working in Istanbul.

“Assad was shooting us, killing us,” he told The Associated Press. “I will return to Syria now. Thank God, the war is over.”

At the Oncupinar border gate, Mustafa Sultan, 29, said he was crossing into Syria to find his older brother who was imprisoned in Damascus under Assad's rule.

“I haven't seen him for 13 years. The prisons have been emptied so I am going to go see whether he's alive,” he said.

Turkish officials have not said how many Syrians have returned since Assad's downfall. Authorities set up a checkpoint some 5 kilometres from Cilvegozu, only allowing Syrians with proper documents to the border gate, HaberTurk television reported.

Assad's fall has sparked widespread joy among Turkey's 3 million Syrian refugees, with many taking to the streets of Istanbul and other cities to celebrate. On Sunday, Syrians also removed the Syrian government's flag from the Syrian Consulate in Istanbul, replacing it with the opposition's flag.

Turkey welcomed Syrian refugees with open arms in the early years of the Syrian civil war that broke out in 2011 — becoming host to the largest number of refugees in the world. Ankara believed that the conflict would end quickly and refugee influx would be temporary.

But as Turkey faced economic challenges, public opinion toward the refugees soured, forcing President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government to seek ways to ensure their safe and voluntary repatriation.

Turkish officials now hope that a significant number of Syrians will return voluntarily.

“We will continue our efforts to ensure the safe and voluntary return of Syrians and to rebuild the country,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Monday.

At Cilvegozu, some refugees wheeled their suitcases while others carried belongings in sacks.

Zakariya Mori al-Shami, 31, who arrived in Turkey in 2019, was waiting to cross the border with his wife and two children to return to Aleppo. He hopes to rebuild his home, which was destroyed during the conflict.

“We came here because there was a war now the war is over and we're going back,” he said.

Anxious to rejoin his family in Damascus, Mohammed al Muhbuhar, 27, said he headed to the border “immediately” after Assad left.

“We are very happy that Assad is gone. There is no more torture. God willing, Syria will be better,” he said.

Hundreds of displaced Syrians were also returning Monday from Lebanon, with dozens of cars lining up to enter. Lebanese residents on Sunday handed out congratulatory sweets to Syrians waiting to go back to their country.

Sami Abdel-Latif, a construction worker and refugee from Hama who was heading to Syria to join his wife and four children, said while the future in Syria is still uncertain, “anything is better than Bashar.” He said he expected some chaos initially but that eventually the situation would settle down.

“Look at Aleppo now,” Abdel-Latif said, referring to the first major city taken over by opposition forces more than a week ago, where life has continued more or less as normal. He said he is also hoping that there will now be plentiful work in Syria to rebuild.

Malak Matar, who was preparing to return to Damascus, said: “This is a feeling we've been waiting 14 years for."

“You feel yourself psychologically free you can express yourself,” he said. “The country is free and the barriers have been broken down.”

Now, he said, “Syrians have to create a state that is well-organised and takes care of their country. It's a new phase.”