Syrian government calls on refugees in Germany to return home

The Syrian government on Tuesday called on Syrian refugees in Germany to apply to return to their home country.

BERLIN (Kurdistan 24) – The Syrian government on Tuesday called on Syrian refugees in Germany to apply to return to their home country.

The Syrian embassy in the German capital Berlin published a statement on its website asking Syrian refugees in Germany to submit their requests for what it called “reconciliation.”

“This is to tackle the matters of the Syrian citizens who left Syria illegally due to the current situation, and this is the government’s initiative to encourage our citizens to return to their home country and resettle their military and security issues,” the statement read.

Speaking to Kurdistan 24, Erbil-based lawyer Jamal Abdulrahman said such statements would not encourage the refugees to return unless there are guarantees for their safety.

“Any settlement or reconciliation transaction without the involvement of Bashar al-Assad, and with the abolition of security and intelligence departments in Syria will prompt most of the refugees to return to their country voluntarily,” he said.

The Syrian government call comes a few days after the return of hundreds of Syrian refugees in Lebanon to Syria. However, most of the refugees fear retaliation by the government when they return despite the assurances given by Damascus.

“The Syrian government calls upon Syrian citizens, who were forced by war and terrorist attacks to leave the country, to return to their home country after the liberation of most areas from terrorists,” Syrian state-run news agency SANA previously said.

Over 5.6 million Syrians have fled the country. The Foreign Ministry says many internally displaced persons have already returned home, urging refugees to do the same.

Many Syrians are unable to return because their homes were destroyed in the fighting, or because they fear military conscription or retribution from government forces.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany