Storm Kills 4 People, Injures Several in War-torn Syria

File photo: Damage caused by the storm seen in Latakia on Saturday. (Syrian media)
File photo: Damage caused by the storm seen in Latakia on Saturday. (Syrian media)
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Storm Kills 4 People, Injures Several in War-torn Syria

File photo: Damage caused by the storm seen in Latakia on Saturday. (Syrian media)
File photo: Damage caused by the storm seen in Latakia on Saturday. (Syrian media)

A storm in central Syria on Wednesday collapsed building walls in two villages, killing four people, including two children, a pro-government radio station reported.

The heavy winds forced Syrian authorities to close all ports on the Mediterranean Sea while in the war-torn country’s rebel-held northwest, dozens of tents collapsed in settlements housing people displaced by Syria’s 12-year conflict, The Associated Press said.

Along with collapsing walls, falling rocks and trees also injured several people in the northwest, said the opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense, also known as White Helmets.

Sham FM radio station quoted Dr. Saleem Khallouf, the head of the National Hospital in the central city of Hama, as saying the four fatalities took place in the villages of Morek and Jibreen. He said the injured were being treated at the local hospital.

Hundreds of buildings and homes collapsed in the Feb. 6 earthquake that hit Türkiye and Syria, killing more than 50,000 people, including more than 6,000 in Syria.



Türkiye Says Over 273,000 Syrian Refugees Have Returned Home

FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
TT

Türkiye Says Over 273,000 Syrian Refugees Have Returned Home

FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)

More than 273,000 Syrians who fled their country's civil war to neighboring Türkiye have returned home since the fall of president Bashar al-Assad in December, Türkiye's vice-president said Friday.

"The number of people who have voluntarily returned to Syria since December 8, 2024 has exceeded 273,000," Cevdet Yilmaz was quoted as saying by the official Anadolu news agency.

Some 2.7 million Syrian refugees are still in Türkiye, according to interior ministry figures released in May.

The Turkish government, which supports Syria's new rulers, is hoping to accelerate the return of refugees to ease tensions generated by their presence in parts of the country.