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Ammon News - The number of Syrian refugees returning from Jordan to Syria after the lapse of 9 months of this year has reached 3325, with Jordan and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) continuing to emphasize the voluntary return and refusing to force it.

From 2016 until the end of last month, 341,500 Syrian refugees returned to Syria, of whom 64,278 were Syrian refugees residing in Jordan, according to UNHCR data that announced the return of 38,379 refugees to Syria from Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.

The numbers for returnees to Syria are those that have been "verified or monitored by UNHCR and do not reflect the full number of returnees, which may be much higher", UNHCR says.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Safadi, said on Wednesday that the current situation in Syria and the suffering that this situation produces for the Syrians, and its negative repercussions on the region, especially the countries neighboring Syria, cannot coexist with it.

Safadi stressed the need to intensify work in order to achieve practical and tangible progress in efforts to end the catastrophic situation in Syria, and to reach a political solution that meets the aspirations of the Syrian people, guarantees Syria's unity, cohesion and sovereignty, rids it of terrorism and external interference, and creates the necessary conditions for the voluntary return of refugees.

The opening of the border between Jordan and Syria was announced on October 15, 2018, and the Syrian government regained control of the area around the Nassib crossing in July through a Russian-backed offensive that lasted several weeks.

More than 1.3 million Syrian refugees live in Jordan, including 676,787 refugees registered with UNHCR, as of October 16 and according to a survey conducted by UNHCR in early 2022 and published in June regarding the intentions and perceptions of Syrian refugees regarding return, 36% of Syrian refugees in Jordan wish to return within 5 years, but 2.4% of Syrian refugees who responded to the survey in Jordan have the intention to return to Syria within a year.

Safety and security concerns remain the refugees' main concern, followed by concerns about livelihood opportunities and inadequate basic services, according to UNHCR, which says it "does not facilitate or encourage return to Syria."

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, expressed his respect for Jordan's position, which does not force Syrian refugees to return to their country.