MOSCOW (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova — Some 15,000 refugees returned to homes in the rebuilt city of al-Husseiniya near Damascus, Syrian State Minister for National Reconciliation Affairs Ali Haidar told Sputnik Thursday.
"Just last week, 15 thousand residents of al-Husseinya town east of Damascus were brought back to their homes as it was rebuilt. We have rebuilt all the town's infrastructure, and we are also providing them with food, schooling and medical help,” Haidar said.
In October 2013, Syrian army soldiers and Shiite militia fighters loyal to President Bashar Assad stormed al-Husseiniya, killing at least 70 terrorists and clearing the city for residents to return.
The return of residents to al-Husseiniya had been repeatedly postponed after the government took control of the city.
Syria has been engulfed in a civil war since 2011, which has displaced over ten million Syrians.
