Bulgarian authorities are pressuring and coercing Syrian asylum seekers to return home, part of a wider European shift that began before the fall of the Assad regime last December, but has accelerated since.
While Brussels followed Washington in lifting sanctions on Syria in May, the European Union and its member states have the opportunity to chart their own course, analysts argue.
Following an initial burst of activity when the regime fell and displaced people returned, markets in Reef Dimashq are faltering and facing new challenges.
The Assad regime is gone, but sanctions on Syria remain. As the country embarks on a long and costly road to recovery, should they be lifted?
As life in Cyprus grows increasingly difficult for many asylum seekers, the number of Syrians opting into the island’s “voluntary return” program is going up. So far this year, 114 Syrians have returned, compared to just around 30 in all of 2023.
A billion-euro EU aid package to Lebanon, in part to stem migration, caused an uproar in the country and triggered a crackdown on Syrian refugees that advocates warn will only push more to flee abroad
Alaa fled to Germany at 16, after her brother was disappeared by Syrian government forces. She hoped to bring her parents later, but her reunification request was denied. She has not seen her parents for seven years, and has never met her six-year-old brother.
