Syria crisis: Refugees return 'to sell assets for Europe journey'

Growing numbers of Syrian refugees in Jordan are returning to Syria, figures from the UN refugee agency UNHCR show.

Almost 4,000 refugees returned to Syria in August, double the number for the previous month.

Some are attempting to go home to live, while others plan to sell assets to raise money for the journey to Europe, refugee agencies say.

Some 86% of Syrians in Jordan are living below the poverty line there of $3.20 (£2) a day, the UNHCR says.

"They are unable to keep a roof over their heads, put food on the table and send their children to school," Cate Osborn from the Norwegian Refugee Council's (NRC) Jordan office told the BBC. "They see the situation as increasingly desperate."

About 100 refugees returned each day in September, compared to daily rates of 120 in August and 60 in July, according to the UNHCR.

It has collected the figures because the bus to Syria taken by many refugees departs from the UN-run Zaatari refugee camp.

Some are trying to return to their original locations or to join up with family members who have been internally displaced, Ms Osborn said, but others want to reach Europe.

"Many people are telling us that they are going back to Syria to sell their property to get the funds they need to make the journey to Europe", said Ms Osborn.

There are also reports of hundreds of Syrians flying out of Jordan, the NRC said, with many boarding flights to Istanbul, a first stop on the migrant route to Europe.

The increase in Syrians leaving Jordan coincides with cuts in aid. Last month, the World Food Programme stopped giving food vouchers to 229,000 refugees in Jordan because of a lack of funds.

"If you can't provide protection and a sense of hope, then refugees will take matters into their own hands," said Andrew Harper, head of the UNHCR in Jordan.

"But this change is about much more than that now. It's about where Syrians and Iraqis see themselves in five years time."

There are more than four million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. Despite appeals for more funding, the UNHCR says it has received just a third of the money, external it needs.

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