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More than 2 mln refugees return to Syria — Russian defense ministry

Mikhail Mizintsev noted that ten checkpoints had been set up and were in operation around the clock in order to facilitate the return of refugees

DAMASCUS, July 26. / TASS /. Over 2 mln Syrian citizens have returned to their homeland, Chief of the Russian National Center for State Defense Control Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, who also heads the Joint Coordination Center for refugees returning to Syria, stated on Monday.

"To date, more than 2,278,000 Syrian citizens have already returned to their homes, over 1,362,000 of them were internally displaced persons, while more than 915,000 refugees came from abroad," Mizintsev said at a meeting of the Joint Coordination Center between Russian and Syrian representatives.

Mizintsev noted that ten checkpoints had been set up and were in operation around the clock in order to facilitate the return of refugees. As many as five of them are located on the Syrian-Lebanese border, one is on the Syrian-Jordanian border (now temporarily closed due to the pandemic) and two checkpoints for receiving internally displaced persons are in Syria.

Furthermore, there is a checkpoint for receiving refugees arriving by air as well as one for ships with Syrians on board arriving from foreign ports.

"Within the framework of the Joint Coordination Center’s activities, effective interaction has been established with the relevant institutions of Lebanon and Jordan," Mizintsev emphasized.

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