20,000 Syrian refugees return from Lebanon so far in 2018

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Around 20,000 refugees who had left Syria because of the war and settled in Lebanon, have returned to their homes since the beginning of the year through the Jeydet Yabus checkpoint, deputy director of the Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sidesof Syria General Major Yevgeny Kharchenko told reporters.

“According to our estimates, since the beginning of 2018, more than 20,000 refugees returned to permanent residence locations through the Jeydet Yabus checkpoint,” he said.

According to the Center, the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is 1,5 million.

TheRussian Reconciliation Center for SyriaorRussian Centre for the Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in the Syrian Arab Republic, founded 23 February 2016, is a "peace monitoring center and information office" whose aim is to speed the peace negotiations between theSyrian Arab Republicand opposition groups in the ongoing war.

It is headquartered inKhmeimim Air Base,Latakia,Syria. It is also tasked with coordinatinghumanitarianmissions and organizing localities to sign up tocease fireagreements

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan