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More Than 50,000 Refugees Return to Syria from Türkiye

A boy cycles past buildings which were damaged during the war between opposition forces and the Assad regime, in the town of Harasta, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
A boy cycles past buildings which were damaged during the war between opposition forces and the Assad regime, in the town of Harasta, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
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More Than 50,000 Refugees Return to Syria from Türkiye

A boy cycles past buildings which were damaged during the war between opposition forces and the Assad regime, in the town of Harasta, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
A boy cycles past buildings which were damaged during the war between opposition forces and the Assad regime, in the town of Harasta, on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Türkiye’s Interior Affairs Minister said Thursday that a total of 52,622 refugees have returned to Syria from Türkiye in the first month following Bashar Assad’s removal from power on Dec. 8.
Speaking at the Cilvegozu border crossing between Türkiye and Syria on Thursday, Ali Yerlikaya said that more than 40,000 Syrians had returned with family members while some 11,000 individuals crossed into Syria alone.
“The voluntary, safe, honorable and regular returns have started to increase,” Yerlikaya said.
Türkiye has hosted the largest number of Syrian refugees since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011 — more than 3.8 million at its peak in 2022.

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Arab World

Sudanese Army Announces Recapture of Khartoum Refinery

President of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan (AFP)
President of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan (AFP)
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Sudanese Army Announces Recapture of Khartoum Refinery

President of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan (AFP)
President of the Sudanese Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan (AFP)

The Sudanese army announced on Saturday that it had regained control of the Al-Jili oil refinery, north of Khartoum, which had been under siege for several days and used as a military base by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for over 21 months.

Chief of Staff General Mohamed Osman Al-Hussein described the victory as a pivotal moment, stating: “This success was achieved through the joint efforts of all military units in the region, culminating at the General Command headquarters, which symbolizes the armed forces and Sudan’s sovereignty.”

Speaking from the General Command in central Khartoum, he said: “Thousands of officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers defended this location.”

Al-Hussein hailed the arrival of reinforcements and their unification with forces at the General Command—besieged by the RSF since the conflict began in April 2023—as “the start of a new era for the armed forces and the Sudanese people, who have stood firmly by their military since the onset of the War of Dignity.”

He added: “This victory will motivate us to liberate every remaining inch of Sudanese territory.”

Army spokesperson Nabil Abdullah confirmed the recapture in a statement on the military’s official Facebook page, writing: “Our forces have fully regained control of the Khartoum refinery.” On Thursday, the refinery suffered a massive fire that destroyed its main storage facilities, with both the army and RSF accusing each other of causing the blaze.

The Sudanese army has recently made significant gains in and around Khartoum. It broke the siege of the Signal Corps base in Bahri and secured the General Command headquarters in central Khartoum. The RSF has not issued any official statement regarding the refinery’s recapture.

Earlier on Saturday, hours before the announcement, General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, head of the Transitional Sovereignty Council and commander of the Sudanese army, visited front-line troops near Al-Jili.

Meanwhile, in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, dozens were killed or injured after the RSF reportedly targeted the Saudi Hospital. The El Fasher Resistance Committees, a group of civilian activists, reported that at least 67 people were killed and dozens injured.

According to medical sources, the RSF carried out the attack using a drone on Friday evening, causing “the complete destruction of the hospital’s emergency department,” rendering it entirely non-operational, the group wrote on Facebook.