READ HERE: The lightning offensive by various Syrian rebel groups that led to the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime on Sunday, December 8, 2024, has sparked a wave of hope among Syrians who have sought refuge outside their borders since the start of the civil war in 2011.

In Turkey, a country currently hosting more than three million Syrian refugees according to data from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there were scenes of joy after the end of five decades of a bloody dictatorship established by Hafez al-Assad and perpetuated by his son Bashar. In the past few days, hundreds of Syrian refugees have already made their way to the Turkish border crossings of Cilvegozu and Oncupinar, as well as to the Masnaa border crossing between Lebanon and Syria.

However, as Statista’s Anna Fleck reports, while the fall of the Assad dictatorship has restored a little hope to the Syrian people, the living conditions of refugees in neighboring countries also contribute to this wave of returns. This is the case in Lebanon, which hosts over 770,000 Syrians registered with the UNHCR, the vast majority of whom are living in extremely difficult conditions, worsened by an enduring economic crisis.