Russian military arranges return of 9,500 refugees to Syria’s Rif Dimashq province

Five years ago, military activities forced the residents of Al-Buwaidah to leave the settlement located six kilometers away from the Syrian capital of Damascus. The positions of the so-called moderate opposition’s armed units are only 25 away from the settlement but despite that, the restoration of local infrastructure facilities is advancing at a fast pace. Water supplies have already been restored, as well as a hospital and several schools.

According to Syrian Minister for National Reconciliation Ali Haidar, the ministry has been cooperating with the Russian Center on a permanent basis. “Today’s mission is only a small part of the work that we have been carrying out together with the officers from the Center for Reconciliation,” he said. “It was a joint decision to arrange the return of refugees, we made it after assessing the security situation and the current state of the settlement’s infrastructure. The Russian military officers also helped resolve a number of logistics issues,” the minister added.