The perils of sending refugees back to Syria

As the Syrian government retakes territories across the country and active conflict narrows to smaller areas, questions about how and when refugees will return to Syria are on many people’s minds. The questions are spurred in no small part by the eagerness of Syria’s neighbors, including Lebanon, to see these refugees leave. On July 26, Saad Hariri, Lebanon’s prime minister, met with a Russian diplomatic and military delegation to discuss a Russian refugee return initiative. This was one of many meetings Russian officials were holding regionally, and with EU countries, to urge countries to provide support to the Syrian government to facilitate the return of refugees. The meeting between Lebanese and Russian officials came just over two weeks after Hezbollah, another Syrian government ally, opened reception centers in Lebanon to promote and help facilitate refugee returns. In Lebanon—which hosts an estimated 1.5 million Syrians, by far the highest number of