Half a Million Syrians Leave Turkey, Split Over Returning Home

Syrians weigh a return amid mixed hopes and fears

More than half a million Syrians have left Turkey since the ousting of Bashar al‑Assad in December 2024, part of a complex wave of returns and departures after Turkey once hosted about 3.5 million people displaced by the 2011 war. Many say they feel the pull of home and hope to rebuild — for example an 18‑year‑old in Gaziantep who plans to return in a year or two — while others are wary after seeing the destruction in cities like Aleppo and facing occupied homes, damaged services and ongoing violence.

Practical and political obstacles cloud decisions to go back. Syrians in Turkey live under temporary protection with restrictions on movement and work; recent policy changes ended some free medical care and raised hiring costs, and civil society groups report pressure to leave. Opinions among Syrians vary widely: some are arranging staged returns and express optimism about reconstruction, while others — citing insecurity, economic hardship and doubts about the interim government — plan to stay or keep contingency plans. as reported by BBC