BEIRUT: Hezbollah will work with the Syrian state and Lebanon’s General Security agency to help return Syrian refugees who want to go back home, its leader said on Friday, a project that critics see as premature in the absence of a peace deal.
Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, whose Iran-backed movement fights alongside Damascus, also said a “very big victory” was coming in south Syria, where an army offensive has made rapid gains against insurgents.
As Syrian government forces and their allies retake more territory, some Lebanese officials have stepped up calls for refugees to leave for parts of Syria where violence died down.
UN officials and foreign donor states to Lebanon have said conditions for returns are not yet fulfilled in Syria, where a political deal to end the multi-sided war remains elusive.
In a televised speech, Nasrallah said Hezbollah was establishing a mechanism to return “the biggest possible number” of Syrians refugees who want to go home safely and voluntarily.
