Syrians in Turkey weigh return after Assad's fall amid rising pressures

Syrians weigh return or remain in Turkey

More than half a million Syrians have left Turkey since Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December 2024, reversing a decade in which Turkey hosted as many as 3.5 million people from Syria. Individual stories captured in Gaziantep range from 18-year-old Ahmed, impatient to rebuild a life in Syria, to older returnees like Mahmud who are planning a staged move home; others, including aid workers and families, say they will remain in Turkey because of security, destroyed infrastructure and limited services in Syria.

At the same time, many Syrians in Turkey report growing pressures that make staying harder. Temporary protection status limits movement and access to formal work, new regulations and the end of free medical care have increased costs, and civil society groups say authorities are signalling it is time to return. Political calculations ahead of future elections, along with lingering xenophobic sentiment, add to the uncertainty — while doubts about security and governance in Syria, now led by interim president Ahmed Al Sharaa (a former senior Al Qaeda figure seeking to reshape his image), mean many will delay or reject return until reconstruction and safety improve, as reported by BBC