Aleppo, Sept. 28 (SANA) A second voluntary return convoy carrying 65 displaced families, or about 300 people, left al-Rasm camp in Manbij area of eastern Aleppo province on Monday for their home communities in Maskanah, Deir Hafer and Raqqa province.
Manbij area official Hashem al-Sheikh told SANA that the convoy was prepared in line with Legislative Decree No. 59 and as part of a plan aimed at making Aleppo province free of displacement camps by the end of 2026.
Al-Sheikh said local authorities were working with the Social Affairs Directorate and humanitarian organizations to facilitate voluntary returns and address challenges facing returnees, including livelihoods and the reconstruction of damaged homes.
Moataz al-Haj Ahmad, director of the Social Affairs and Labor Department in Manbij, said transportation had been arranged for families leaving al-Rasm al-Akhdar camp for their original homes in eastern Aleppo and Raqqa.
Returning after years of displacement
Several returnees welcomed the opportunity to go home after years of displacement.
Bahjat Mohammad Ramadan expressed his happiness at returning to his area and home, while Ibrahim Hussein al-Mohammad spoke about difficult conditions in the camp and called for continued support to rehabilitate schools and basic services and provide jobs and livelihoods, particularly as winter approaches.
The convoy was organized in coordination with the Manbij administration, the Social Affairs and Labor Directorate and the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) under the “Syria Without Camps” initiative.
Similar return convoys were organized in July and August, alongside projects to rehabilitate service facilities and infrastructure in rural Aleppo and neighboring provinces.
A/Dh – MZN
