Most refugees who had to leave the town of Al-Ghantu in Syria’s Homs province under the militant rule have returned to their homes, head of the town’s administration Abdulsalam Javad told reporters.
"Around 16,000 people used to live here before the war and now the town population is 13,000. It is a very good sign, people return every day," he said.
According to the official, the town’s infrastructure facilities destroyed by the war are being reconstructed. "First and foremost, we need to reconstruct infrastructure to provide people with water and electricity. The government has been helping us," Javad said.
Return home
Many refugees see the return to their home town as a reason for celebration, while some of their children are here for the first time. "My son was born in a refugee camp and he does not know yet what home is. During the war we had little chance to eat well, sometimes we did not even have a roof over our heads, but it is over now," said Absalam Moni, a refugee who returned to Al-Ghantu with his wife and son.
"We are making a new start," Moni added.
Another refugee named Abdelnaser Ebra has already begun to rebuild his house. "After we returned, the government immediately provided us with assistance in rebuilding our home. My wife needs medical treatment and we have already received a hospital appointment," Ebra said.
A market has reopened in Al-Ghantu, marking the return to normalcy.
Liberation of Homs province
The town of Al-Ghantu, located near the provincial capital of Homs, was in the middle of fighting between militants and Syrian government forces, and suffered huge damage.
A de-escalation zone was later established in the Homs province with Russia’s assistance. The Russian General Staff said in May that the de-escalation zone had been liberated through talks and no military activities had been necessary, which made it possible to avoid civilian casualties.
Refugees continue to return to Homs from other Syrian regions, as well as from neighboring countries - Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.
On August 3, Russia’s National Defense Management Center hosted a meeting of the Joint Coordination Headquarters set up by the Russian Foreign and Defense Ministries to monitor the return of refugees to Syria. According to the meeting’s participants, around one mln people are expected to return to the country in the coming months.
