Almost 30 percent of di millions of Syrian refugees wey dey Middle East countries wan go back dia country for di next one year, afta Bashar al-Assad don comot, according to wetin di head of di UN refugee agency tok.

Di change na based on wetin UN check for January, few weeks afta dem remove Assad, wey end di 13-year civil war wey cause one of di biggest refugee wahala for modern times.

"We don see di mata dey change small small, afta many years wey e no dey move," Filippo Grandi tok for small meeting with reporters for Damascus afta e meet with di new Syria government.

Di number of Syrians wey wan go back "don almost reach zero before. But now, e don reach like 30 percent for just few weeks. Dis one mean say people dey send message, and e dey very important make we hear dem and act on am," e tok.

About 200,000 Syrian refugees don already go back since Assad comot, Grandi tok. Plus, about 300,000 wey run go back Syria from Lebanon during di Israeli war for Lebanon for September and October, most of dem dey believed say dem still dey dia.

Harsh Western sanctions

To bring back di roughly 6 million Syrians wey run go abroad and di millions wey dey displaced inside di country na di main goal of di new Syria government.

But di civil war don scatter many big cities, services no dey work well, and most people dey live for poverty. Syria still dey under strong Western sanctions wey don cut dem economy from di rest of di world.

To help di Syrians wey dey return, many of dem dey sell all di things wey dem get to pay for di journey, UN agencies dey provide small cash for transport and go help with food and to repair some parts of di houses wey don spoil, Grandi tok.

More help still dey needed from donors, Grandi tok, and di sanctions suppose dey look again. E no tok anything about di announcement wey di new US government make on Friday to suspend foreign aid programmes.

"If dem remove di sanctions, e go better di condition for di places wey people dey return," e tok.

Di US earlier dis month don give six-month sanctions exemption for some sectors, like energy, but di new Syria leaders dey talk say dem need more relief.

Grandi tok say di refugees dey respond to di political process wey di new government leader Ahmed al Sharaa don promise, wey go bring better government wey go represent all di people for Syria by March 1.

"Di refugees dey hear wetin e dey talk, wetin e people dey talk, and na why many people don decide to go back," Grandi tok. "But more people go come back if di positive things continue."