Hundreds of Syrian refugees left Lebanon on Monday (July 23rd) for their homeland, AFP reported.
In Lebanon's eastern border town of Arsal, men, women and children of all ages piled into cars, minivans and tractors.
Security forces checked the identity papers of those about to make the journey back to Syria with suitcases, boxes of food and even live poultry.
"The voluntary repatriation of around 850 Syrian refugees started" on Monday morning, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.
Lebanon hosts around 1.5 million Syrian refugees.
Over the past few months, more than 800 Syrians have left Lebanon in similar operations organised by the governments of Beirut and Damascus.
Several thousand also have left independently in recent years.
Syria's state media said the first of "hundreds of Syrians coming from Lebanese territory" had arrived and were heading to Qalamoun outside Damascus.
