Millions of Syrian refugees could soon [going / go] home. They are waiting to see what happens in Syria following the [drop / fall] of the country's former president Bashar al-Assad. He ruled Syria with an [iron / steel] fist for 24 years. After rebels [took / gave] control of parts of Syria on the 6th of December, thousands of refugees [at / in] Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt started returning to [their / them] hometowns. The United Nations believes there are close to 5 million refugees in countries that [border / bordering] Syria. Of these, two million are school-aged children. An [addition / additional] 1.3 million refugees are living in other countries, mostly [on / in] Europe. Turkey's president said: "As Syria gains more stability, God willing, voluntary, [safety / safe] …returns will increase."
Many of the returning refugees have [speaking / spoken] to journalists. Muhammed Zin, 28, told the Associated Press news agency: "Assad was [shooting / shoot] us, killing us. I will return to Syria now. Thank God, the war is [end / over] ." He [fled / flees] the capital Damascus in 2016, five years after Syria's civil war broke [up / out] in 2011. Another returnee, Malak Matar, told reporters: "This is a feeling we've [being / been]
waiting 14 years for. We feel psychologically [free / freedom]
, we can express ourselves. The country is free, and the barriers have been broken [away / down] ." He was hopeful for the future. He added: "Syrians have to create a country [what / that] is well organized and takes care of its people. It's a new [phase / phrase] ."
