LONDON: Over 1.23 million people crossed the Al-Salama border between Turkiye and the Syrian Arab Republic in the first eight months of 2026, according to Syria’s General Authority for Land and Sea Ports and Customs. Additionally, 46,480 commercial trucks crossed the border point, known in Turkiye as Oncupinar. It is located north of the country, near the Syrian city of Azaz and Kilis, on the Turkish side. The customs authority said that the trucks carried over 1.077 million tons of goods, highlighting the crossing’s role in transit shipments and regional trade, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency. Among those who crossed the Al-Salama border were 73,000 Syrians, who fled the country during the years of civil war from 2011 to 2024, and voluntarily returned home between January and August this year. Turkiye has hosted over 3.5 million Syrian refugees, while in Europe, Germany has taken in the largest number of people fleeing the conflict, with some 1 million living in the country. Syria has experienced an increase in traveler numbers at land and airports following the collapse of the Bashar Assad regime in December 2024. In June, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees reported that around 1.3 million people returned to Syria in 2025, marking one of the largest refugee return movements in the world in that year.