The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said that the Assad regime is still preventing hundreds of Syrian citizens in Lebanon from returning to their homeland, indicating that it has recorded 62 cases of arrest and enforced disappearance among returnees from Lebanon since the beginning of 2020.
In a report issued on Wednesday, the Network said that the regime released 25 people, while 37 are still under arrest or forcefully disappeared.
According to the report, the regime re-arrested some of those who were released to forcefully recruit them into its armed forces. It also said that the regime has recently issued a decision requiring returnees to convert 100 US dollars to the local currency at the official rate.
The rights group stressed that the Assad regime violated UN Security Council Resolution 2254, especially Article 14, adding that the regime discourages the return of refugees by imposing fees, arbitrary arrests, torture and enforced disappearances.
The Network warned the Syrian refugees in Lebanon and around the world, as well as the displaced people inside Syria, of returning to the regime-held areas in view of the continued widespread violations.
The report called on the UN Security Council and the United Nations to make real efforts to enforce UN resolution 2254 within a maximum period of 12 months in order to ensure a safe, dignified, and voluntary return of Syrian refugees. (Source: SOC’s Media Department)
