Hope and hardship have driven Syrian refugee returns – but many head back to destroyed homes, land disputes

Displaced Syrian families form a return convoy to their destroyed village. Moawia Atrash/picture alliance via Getty Images

Close to 1.5 million Syrian refugees have voluntarily returned to their home country over the past year.

That extraordinary figure represents nearly one-quarter of all Syrians who fled fighting during the 13-year civil war to live abroad. It is also a strikingly fast pace for a country where insecurity persists across broad regions.