“There are no houses for rent as the whole city is destroyed,” Qashit told DW. For the time being, they are staying with his sister. 

Another Syrian, Mohammad Jassem al-Brouk, fled Israeli strikes in Lebanon two weeks ago. “It was extremely crowded at the border crossing and it took an entire day to get through,” he told DW.

When he eventually arrived at his family home in the city of Qusair near Homs, he only found remnants of the house. With no other option, he unpacked his tent from the refugee camp in Lebanon, set it up, and is now living in it. Despite his lack of housing, he has no intention of returning to Lebanon. 

Earlier in April, a survey by the UN’s refugee agency, the UNHCR, found that around half of the Syrians they had interviewed also said that they intend to remain permanently in Syria despite economic challenges and limited state services.

“Syrians are returning because Lebanon has become unlivable, rather than Syria being ready to receive them,” Nanar Hawach, senior Syria analyst at the International Crisis Group, confirms. “The government can manage the border but it has no answer for what happens after that,” he said. In his view, the hundreds of thousands of returnees should not be read as a sign that conditions inside Syria have improved.

Legacy of war

Syria continues to struggle with the legacy of more than a decade of conflict. Despite sanctions being lifted and Syria’s return to the international fold, sectarian clashes and political instability still compound the country’s problems.

The World Bank’s damage assessment estimates total reconstruction costs at about $216 billion (€200 billion). Basic services, including education, health care and infrastructure, remain limited and the humanitarian situation for the around 26 million people is  dire.

According to the UN, around 15.6 million Syrians require humanitarian assistance and 13.3 million Syrians are food-insecure. A severe drought in 2025 devastated 95% of rainfed crops, the UN 2025 food security assessment report notes.

“Syria was already in a protracted humanitarian crisis before this new wave of returns,” Hiba Zayadin, senior researcher in the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch, told DW. “The infrastructure simply isn’t there to absorb large numbers of people, many of whom left with nothing and are returning to the same.” 

Risk of unexploded devices

These are not the only issues. Syria is also one of the most contaminated countries in the world when it comes to explosive remnants. “Years of aerial bombardment, ground fighting and the use of cluster munitions across multiple governorates have left vast areas littered with unexploded ordnance, or UXO, landmines and improvised explosive devices,” Zayadin continued.

“The danger is very real,” Iain Overton confirmed. He’s the executive director of the UK-based organization, Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) which records evidence of armed violence against civilians worldwide.

He also warned that UXO contamination remains particularly acute in areas that have seen sustained fighting and shifting frontlines, including parts of Raqqa, Deir el-Zour, Aleppo, Idlib and rural Homs and Hama. “These are precisely the areas to which many refugees are returning,” he told DW, adding that children and returnees unfamiliar with contaminated environments are especially vulnerable.

“Even in the absence of active hostilities, the legacy of explosive violence continues to kill and injure,” Overton said, adding that the trend is worsening. In 2024, AOAV recorded 238 UXO incidents causing 508 casualties. Of these, 479 were civilians. By 2025, this had risen sharply to 794 incidents and 1,537 casualties, including 1,424 civilians.

For Qashit and his family, recently returned from Lebanon, these is just one more thing to worry about. “My children would not recognize unexploded mines when they are playing outside,” he said, concerned. 

Back to Yarmouk: A Syrian family rebuilds and seeks justice

Edited by: C. Schaer