Thousands of people who fled the latest fighting in Syria are returning home

BEIRUT – Most Syrians displaced by recent fighting stranded on the border with Jordan in the south of the country have returned home, said Sunday a UN official and a group that monitors closely the Syrian war. Government-controlled areas arrived two days after Syrian troops regained control of the Naseeb border crossing with Jordan, with a long stretch of border between the two countries. On Saturday, Syrian troops hoisted national flags at the border crossing three years after losing it to the rebels.

The Syrian government's offensive to take the province of Daraa from the insurgents has displaced some 330,000 people. heading towards the border with Jordan who refused to allow refugees to cross. Fighting in the border area came to a halt on Friday as part of a deal deal negotiated by Russia.

Anders Pedersen, the first UN humanitarian coordinator in Jordan, said Sunday that 150 to 200 Syrians remained near a crossing point in Jordan. But the situation "remains very difficult and is of great concern to us," Pedersen told reporters, repeating calls for the cessation of hostilities to allow humanitarian operations and humanitarian operations.

Syrian opposition militants reported intense bombing and air strikes against the rebel-held Um al-Mayadeen village a few kilometers north of the border crossing. Naseeb. A few hours later, the official SANA news agency said that troops had captured Um al-Mayadeen after a battle against opposition fighters. Some have vowed to continue fighting, mainly in the western regions of Daraa and the neighboring region of Quneitra at the front with the Golan Heights occupied by Israel.

Pedersen said United Nations organizations must respond to IDPs returning home from the Jordanian border and near the Golan Heights, where they have fled air strikes and bombings in recent weeks.

"Our greatest concern at this time and our greatest demand is to allow us to move in … Andersen said:

The Syrian Observatory of Human Rights Based in Britain said that some 60,000 Syrians have returned home, while thousands have fled to another region, fearing to be detained by government forces or to be enlisted in the army

_____

Akram reported from Aman, Jordan.