1st group of Syrians depart Egypt for Syria

By Ibrahim Khazen

CAIRO (AA) – The first group of Syrians to leave Egypt for their home country since the fall of the Assad regime earlier this month set off on Sunday to depart through the eastern Nuweiba Port.

In a statement, the Red Sea Ports Authority said that 40 Syrians left the country on board of a ferry back to Syria.

“They were transported via buses from their residences in Cairo to the port by a Jordanian company, and all inspection and passport procedures were completed at the port,” added the statement.

The ferry will transport the returnees to Jordan's Aqaba Port, from where they will proceed to the Jaber Border Crossing into Syria, it added.

Egypt hosts over 792,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers from 62 different nationalities, according to figures released by the UN refugee agency UNHCR. However, semi-official figures suggest there are around 9 million refugees in Egypt, including approximately 1.5 million Syrians.

Bashar Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party’s regime, which had been in power since 1963.

The takeover came after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters captured key cities in a lightning offensive that lasted less than two weeks.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala