Hundreds of families returned to their homes in al-Qusayr in Homs province on Sunday, for the first time since the Syrian Arab Army regained control of the city in 2013.
Footage shows buses arriving in the city with the locals, who celebrated the homecoming with music and carrying Syrian and Hezbollah flags through the streets.
As the first families arrived, the Syrian government held logistic preparations to receive the residents.
“We were busy preparing for their [families] return, we organised it in a very good way, we used machines in order to clear and open streets, there are some shops that needs to be cleaned,” said Mohammad Raad Abu al-Masr, member of the Executive Office of al-Qusayr.
According to reports, only ten percent of the city’s population before the war – around 10,000 people – have returned so far.
Figures from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) indicate that 6.6 million people were internally displaced in Syria since the war began, in 2011. Other 5.6 million have left the country, fleeing to Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and beyond.