The Syrian Network for Human Rights said the Assad regime continues to pose a “barbaric” threat to the lives of refugees if they decide to return home, and it documented the disappearance of 638 refugees and the death of 15 under torture. According to its report issued on Thursday, millions of Syrians have been displaced internally and externally because of widespread human rights violations by the regime, its allies as well as PYD militias and international coalition forces. However, the Network stressed that the regime’s practices are the main cause of the displacement of Syrians.
The report noted the most notable abuses committed by regime forces since 2014, the year in which the returnees were increasingly targeted, until August, and it said that only 6 per cent out of the total refugee population, mostly from Lebanon, had returned.
During that period, the report documented at least 1916 cases of detention of returning refugees, including 219 children and 157 women, then released 1132 cases. 784 detention cases remained, 638 of which became enforced disappearance, and 15 cases of killing under torture were documented. (Source: Syrian National Coalition’s Media Department)
