MOSCOW, May 20. /TASS/. More than 290 Syrians returned to their homes in the province of Homs and Damascus’ Eastern Ghouta neighborhood during the day, chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria Yuri Yevtushenko said on Sunday.
"Restoration of damaged social infrastructure facilities and normalization of everyday life encourage people to return to the places of their former residence. Over the past day, as many as 179 people returned to their homes in the province of Homs, and 114 people returned to Eastern Ghouta. The Russian reconciliation center continues to monitor resettlement of refugees from the Tell Rifaat de-conflicting zone to the settlement of Manbij in the province of Aleppo. As many as 413 people with their personal belongings were evacuated throughout the day," he said.
According to Yevtushenko, restoration works at electricity and water supplies systems in the city of Douma continue round-the-clock. Volunteers clear city streets of debris and city dwellers work to restore their damaged houses and social facilities. "Syrian field engineers who were trained by Russian specialists continue demining works. In the past day alone, they examined 23 buildings, destroyed three mines, seven shells and four improvised explosive devices in settlements of Eastern Ghouta and Eastern Qalamoun," he said.
Apart from that, the Russian reconciliation center continues efforts towards peaceful settlement of the conflict and humanitarian assistance to the Syrian population. However, in his words, sporadic ceasefire violations were reported from the provinces of Aleppo, Hama and Daraa. Russian military police units patrol the settlements of Ilda, Babbila and Beit Sahem to prevent provocations and illegal actions.
Officers of the Russian reconciliation center held a working meeting with administration chiefs of the settlements of Ruheiba and Jerud. Agreements were reached to settle the status of local residents who had opted to return to peaceful life.
Efforts are being taken to improve the humanitarian situation in other Syrian regions. Government control was resumed in the Homs de-escalation zone settlements, with state flags hoisted over administrative buildings and police units deployed, Yevtushenko said.
"The Russian reconciliation center delivered humanitarian assistance to the settlements of Deir al-Bakt in the province of Daraa and Dahiyat al-Assad in the province of Rif Dimashq. Humanitarian cargoes included 950 food sets, articles of daily necessity and bottled water with an overall weight of eight tonnes. A total of 110 Syrians, including 74 children, received medical assistance from Russian military doctors," he added.
Russian reconciliation center
The Russian reconciliation center continues to fulfill assigned tasks after the completion of the military campaign in Syria. The center’s officers regularly travel around the country's liberated areas to assess the humanitarian situation. The main efforts of the Russian military are now focused on assistance to the refugees returning to their homes and evacuation of civilians from de-escalation zones.