TRIPOLI: The United Nations’ migration agency on Thursday said it had flown home 152 Syrians from Libya, in the first such flight from the North African country this year.
The International Organization for Migration “on Wednesday facilitated the voluntary return of 152 Syrians in vulnerable situations from Libya to Damascus,” the agency said in a statement.
This marked “the first Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) flight to Syria organized by IOM since the beginning of 2025,” it added.
War since 2011 had devastated Syria, displacing millions both inside the country and abroad.
Over one million Syrian refugees have returned from abroad since the fall of longtime ruler Bashar Assad last December, according to the UN.
The IOM said Wednesday’s flight came “at the request of the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
It said it has been “expanding its operations and services in Syria with the primary objective of supporting the country’s recovery after years of conflict and ensuring dignified and sustainable returns of Syrians.”
Direct weekly flights between Damascus and Tripoli, which have been suspended for over a decade, are set to resume next week, according to Syria’s aviation authority.
Libya is a key transit country for thousands of migrants seeking to reach Europe by sea each year.
In August, the Syrian embassy in Tripoli reopened, after having been shut down since 2012, though it has been reported that it has not resumed consular services or full diplomatic representation.
152 Syrians flown home from Libya: UN migration agency
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152 Syrians flown home from Libya: UN migration agency
- IOM “on Wednesday facilitated the voluntary return of 152 Syrians in vulnerable situations from Libya to Damascus“
- Direct weekly flights between Damascus and Tripoli are set to resume next week
Israel army ‘temporarily suspends’ strike on south Lebanon
- The Israeli military issued a warning earlier on Saturday announcing an imminent strike and warning people in the Yanuh area of south Lebanon to evacuate immediately
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said it would “temporarily” suspend a strike planned for Saturday that was intended to target what it described as Hezbollah military infrastructure in southern Lebanon.
A November 2024 ceasefire sought to end over a year of fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group, which broke out after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
But Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon despite the truce, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah members and infrastructure to stop the group from rearming.
The Israeli military issued a warning earlier on Saturday announcing an imminent strike and warning people in the Yanuh area of south Lebanon to evacuate immediately.
But later Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said “the strike was temporarily suspended,” adding that the military “continues to monitor the target.”
The suspension came after the Lebanese army “requested access again to the specified site... and to address the breach of the agreement,” he said on X.
Adraee added that the military would “not allow” Hezbollah to “redeploy or rearm.”
The year-old ceasefire monitoring mechanism includes the United Nations, the United States and France.
A Lebanese security source said the army had previously tried to search the building that the Israeli military wanted to target but could not because of objections from residents.
But the source told AFP that the Lebanese army was able to enter and search the building after returning a second time, because residents “felt threatened,” adding that they were evacuated over fears of a strike.
