ISTANBUL

More than 115,000 Syrians have returned home since the fall of the Assad regime, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said Thursday.

They have arrived back from countries including Türkiye, Jordan and Lebanon since Dec. 8 the UNHCR said in a statement.

The information came from public statements by host countries, interactions with immigration services within Syria and border monitoring conducted by the agency and its partners.

Bashar Assad, Syria's leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups captured the capital Damascus on Dec. 8, ending the rule of the Baath Party, which had been in power since 1963.

The change came after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters swiftly seized key cities in an offensive that lasted less than two weeks.