Dozens of Syrian refugees left Lebanon by bus on Monday (August 13th) in the latest of a wave of returns to their homeland, AFP reported.
Lebanon's General Security agency said it had secured the voluntary return of 137 Syrians from Shebaa and the central Bekaa Valley through the Masnaa border crossing.
According to Lebanon’s National News Agency, an unspecified number of refugees returned to Syria with their own private vehicles via Masnaa crossing.
Syrian state media reported that returnees had begun arriving in Syria, after announcing earlier that preparations had been made to "receive hundreds of displaced returning from Lebanon to their homes in the Damascus countryside".
Since April, more than 2,000 Syrians have headed home from Lebanon in returns co-ordinated by the authorities in Beirut and Damascus, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
Human rights groups have warned that Syrians returning to their homeland should do so voluntarily and with full knowledge of the risks.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 13,000 Syrians went home from Lebanon during the first six months of this year.
Last week, Lebanon's General Security agency said it had opened 17 centres across the country to receive applications for Syrians who want to return.
