Syrian refugees are facing increasing peril as forced returns and the ongoing Israeli offensive in Lebanon expose them to arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, or murder by the Assad regime. A new report from the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) highlights the grave risks for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) returning to regime-controlled areas.
According to SNHR’s September report, at least 206 arbitrary arrests were documented across Syria last month, including nine children and 17 women. Of particular concern, the report notes is the fate of nine refugees who returned to Syria from Lebanon amid Israeli airstrikes that have escalated since September 23. The refugees, most of whom were originally from Rural Damascus, were arrested at border crossings and transported to security detention centers in Homs and Damascus, accused of evading mandatory military service.
Returnees are increasingly caught between two dangers: escalating military activity in Lebanon and the well-documented abuses of the Assad regime upon their return. Refugee refoulement, particularly from Lebanon, has surged in recent months.
Returns often result in arbitrary detention, as refugees are detained under the pretext of conscription or accusations of political dissent, according to SNHR. Last month Abdul Ghani Munir was killed by the regime following his return to Assad regime areas after being deported from Turkey.
Documentation revealed that Syria has one of the highest rates of enforced disappearances globally, with the Assad regime responsible for the majority of these cases. Since the start of the conflict, tens of thousands of Syrians have vanished in regime detention centers. In September alone, 158 individuals vanished in Assad’s archipelago of prisons.
The Israeli military campaign against Hezbollah and Iranian forces in Lebanon has pushed thousands of Syrian refugees back across the border into Syria. SNHR recorded the arrest of returning refugees at both formal and informal crossings, especially targeting those fleeing Israeli bombings. The risk for these refugees is compounded by the Assad regime’s history of persecuting anyone perceived as having connections to “opposition forces” or having left the country.
In addition to arrests at the border, there has been a wave of detentions targeting activists in Latakia, where criticism of the regime’s economic and security policies is growing. Civilians attempting to return to their homes from liberated territories, especially near Damascus, have also been subject to arbitrary arrest, highlighting the regime’s control over movement and dissent.
The Assad regime continues to violate international human rights law, including provisions outlined in the Convention Against Torture, ratified by Syria in 2004. Despite international pressure, including a November 2023 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering provisional measures to prevent torture and arbitrary detention, the Assad regime has not shown any signs of compliance.
With at least 136,614 people still detained or forcibly disappeared by the regime, the report calls for increased international scrutiny and demands for transparency in the fate of the missing. The SNHR continues to urge the United Nations and the international community to apply pressure on the Assad regime to halt these violations, release detainees, and reveal the fate of the disappeared.
As the conflict in Syria drags into its second decade, refugees and displaced civilians remain at high risk, especially as forced returns expose them to the brutality of the Assad regime.
