Syria closes displacement camps, plans for returns
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The Syrian government closed over 200 displacement camps as part of its “Syria Without Camps” plan to end camp-based displacement by September 2027.
Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed al-Saleh announced the closures and ongoing efforts to help displaced families return to their homes. Approximately 141,000 families still live in camps throughout the country, but around 20% of those originally living in camps have already returned to their home areas.
The government’s approach involves facilitating returns alongside rebuilding infrastructure, providing housing, and supporting families unable to return immediately. Officials are preparing for a major return operation involving 4,000 to 6,000 families, following recent daily return convoys. Idlib province currently hosts the largest number of camps, with 786 camps housing roughly 458,250 people, while Aleppo has around 391 camps in designated return areas. To support returns, President Ahmad al-Sharaa established a national committee in March to rehabilitate damaged infrastructure.
The government removed nearly 3 million cubic meters of rubble in the first eight months of 2026 and plans to remove a similar amount before the end of the year, working toward a goal of removing all 50 million cubic meters of rubble by mid-2028. Authorities are also developing a national mine-clearance framework, having removed around 130,000 mines in 2025, and aim to map all mine-contaminated areas by the end of 2027.
