LATAKIA /Syria/, July 22. /TASS/. Syria’s Latakia province has accommodated around one mln refugees from other regions of the country and other countries, Latakia Governor Ibrahim Khodr al-Salem told reporters.
"We receive all those in need of a shelter. About one million people are currently residing here," the governor said, adding that refugees were being provided with medical assistance, while their children were given the opportunity to go to school.
Besides, the former residents of the Latakia province, who had to leave its northern areas seized by militants, have also been returning to their homes. "We were walking on a street and suddenly there was an explosion. I saw that my grandson had been wounded and we found shelter in the cellar of a nearby building," said a local woman named Zeina Ibrahim Bajar, who returned home after the province had been liberated from terrorists.
The Syrian government supported by Russia has been making efforts to encourage refugees, including those residing abroad, to return. On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the establishment of a center for receiving, relocating and accommodating refugees in Syria. The center will monitor the return of temporarily displaced persons and refugees to their places of residence, as well as arrange humanitarian aid deliveries and assist the Syrian authorities in restoring healthcare and human services and resolving issues related to the reconstruction of infrastructure facilities.
Russia’s Foreign and Defense Ministries have also established a joint headquarters at the National Defense Management Center in order to coordinate the refugee center’s activities. Other Russian ministries may participate in the refugee reception center’s activities in the future.