UN migration chief says large-scale returns to Syria now “not advised”

International Organization for Migration chief Amy Pope said Tuesday the UN agency was not advising the large-scale return of people to Syria before the situation in the country has stabilised.

"People have the right to return home... but we are not advising any sort of large-scale return... the system can't bear that kind of influx," Pope told Agence France-Presse (AFP) during a visit to Lebanon,

“Absent an investment in Syria itself... sending people back will only destabilise the country further and will likely create pressures for people to migrate out again,” Pope added.