Giornale al-Ittihad – Arab countries call for an intensified international effort to restore Syrian refugees

At an economic summit held in Beirut on Sunday, January 20, Arab states called on the international community to intensify efforts to allow Syrians to return to their homes.

The UN refugee agency said last month that about 5.6 million Syrians remained in five neighboring countries – Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq – and that their return was not yet secure .

Since the start of the conflict in Syria in 2011, over 1 million people have fled across the border to Lebanon.

Lebanese officials have called on the displaced to return to their homes after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad succeeded in restoring control over much of Syria.