Middle East · Critical · since 2011
Syria
Returning home to a house that is no longer standing.
Aftermath of 13 years of civil war and the December 2024 transition
~16.5M
People in need
Syria HNRP 2026
~7.2M
Internally displaced
OCHA, 2026
~4.8M
Refugees in region
Türkiye, Lebanon, Jordan
2025–26
Returns underway
UNHCR operational updates
What is happening
Roughly 16.5 million people still need assistance. Around 7.2 million remain internally displaced even as some families begin returning after the fall of the previous government.
Returns create their own emergency: rubble, unexploded ordnance, no water network and no documentation to prove ownership.
What we don't think about
Explosive remnants in the rubble
Children playing in ruined neighbourhoods are the most common casualties of a war that has technically paused.
The paperwork problem
Without deeds, birth certificates or marriage records, returning families cannot claim their land, enrol children or access services.
Camps that became towns
In the north-west, camp settlements have existed long enough to have shops and streets — but no legal status and no sewage system.