IDLIB: A convoy departed from camps in the Idlib countryside on Monday carrying 201 displaced families who are returning to their homes in nine Syrian provinces, as part of ongoing efforts to close the camps and end displacement. The voluntary returns of people displaced during the civil war in Syria, which began in 2011 and ended in December 2024 with the fall of the Assad regime, were organized under the auspices of Idlib Governorate, in cooperation with the Directorate of Social Affairs and Labor, the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the humanitarian Muzn Organization, and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent. Mohammed Baker, director of the Northern Department of Social Affairs and Labor in Idlib, said the families were surveyed inside the camps, their names verified and arrangements made for their return. The directorate will follow up on the conditions of the families after their return, help facilitate access to services, and coordinate with the UN agency to support access to job opportunities, he added. Osama Al-Mousa, an operations officer at the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management in Dana, said Civil Defense teams were providing security for the convoy in coordination with relevant authorities. The returns formed part of the implementation of Presidential Decree No. 59, which calls for efforts to restore public services and infrastructure in war-ravaged regions, improve living conditions, and support citizens affected by internal displacement with the aim of helping them to return home and achieve the goal of “zero tents.” The families were returning to several parts of the country, Al-Mousa said, including Khan Sheikhoun and Maarat Al-Numan in Idlib province; Qalaat al-Madiq, Kafr Nabudah and Mhardeh in Hama province; and A-Qusayr in Homs province. Several returnees told how happy they were to be going home after years of displacement. Ali Subaih, from Maarat Al-Numan, said he was pleased to return to his home and land, despite the damage to his house and the need for repairs and restoration. Najoud Najib Al-Salloum, from Al-Qaryatayn in the Homs countryside, said that being able to return with dignity brought to an end years of hardship in the camps. The convoy was the latest in a series of such voluntary returns organized since the beginning of the year. One carrying 263 families departed on Sunday, and another carrying 212 families left a few days earlier. Registration for additional convoys from camps in northern Syria is continuing.Another 201 displaced families return from camps in Idlib to their homes in 9 Syrian provinces