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Reuters
Reuters
Politics
By Maya Gebeily

Syrian refugees cling on in Turkey, Lebanon as fears over coerced returns grow

FILE PHOTO: Syrian refugees sit near an informal camp, in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon October 18, 2022. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo

The first Syrian refugees in Lebanon to return home under a new repatriation scheme will leave on Wednesday, but few in worn-down camps in the central Bekaa Valley said they would sign up.

Rights groups fear the programme may not be as voluntary as it purports to be, at a time when concerns are growing about a policy of coercion they say is already in force in Turkey, where 3.6 million Syrians who have fled their country are registered.

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