RIYADH: The Saudi aid agency KSrelief is joining forces with the UN Refugee Agency to provide vital shelter and winter assistance for thousands of Syrian families returning to their home country after the civil war.

The agreement was signed on Friday on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York by KSrelief’s supervisor general, Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, and the UN’s high commissioner for refugees, Barham Salih.

Under the initiative, 987 damaged residential units will be repaired and renovated to provide safe, habitable living spaces, the Saudi Press Agency reported. In addition, 10,768 winter kits will be handed out to help protect vulnerable households from the effects of harsh winter weather. The contents include high-thermal-insulation blankets, protective plastic tarpaulins, winter apparel and heavy jackets.

The joint campaign is expected to help 58,625 vulnerable individuals in five governorates: Aleppo, Reef Dimashq (the Damascus Countryside), Deir Ezzor, Idlib and Homs. Priority will be given to female heads of household, widows, children, the elderly, and families in acute need.

The program forms part of Saudi Arabia’s broader humanitarian commitment, through the work of KSrelief, to support the voluntary, dignified and safe return of displaced Syrian families, bolster community resilience, and establish long-term domestic stability, the SPA said.

It comes as the new authorities in Syria expand coordination with the UN, Saudi Arabia and other international partners to facilitate the safe return of citizens who fled abroad during the civil war that began in 2011 and ended with the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, while addressing critical infrastructure shortfalls and the immediate needs of returnees.

Saudi Arabia has played a leading humanitarian role in Syria since the start of the war. According to official figures reported by the Saudi media, the Kingdom took in about 2.5 million Syrian refugees during the conflict. Rather than housing them in refugee camps, Saudi authorities granted formal residency and visitor statuses, including freedom of movement and access to community living.

Royal decrees facilitated the integration of more than 100,000 Syrian children into Saudi public education, tuition-free, and the refugees also received free healthcare and work permits.

At the same time, the Kingdom said it channeled hundreds of millions of dollars through KSrelief and national humanitarian campaigns to provide support for Syrians living in regional refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkiye.