With al-Assad gone, German opposition raises return of Syria refugees

A day after Syrian rebel groups seized control of the capital Damascus, senior leaders of Germany's conservative CDU/CSU bloc suggested encouraging refugees to return to the country.
Bashar al-Assad, Syria's strongman president, fled to Russia after a coalition of anti-regime groups swept through formerly government-held areas of the country in a rapid offensive.
Germany should now charter aircraft to send Syrians who had fled from al-Assad's regime back to their home country, and offer cash incentives to encourage people to take the flight, a deputy leader of the conservative CDU/CSU bloc said on Monday.
"As a first step, I would say that we are making an offer. How about the German government saying: anyone who wants to go back to Syria, we'll charter planes for them and give them a starting payment of €1,000," ($1,060), Jens Spahn told broadcaster RTL/ntv on Monday morning.
Spahn, a former health minister, said Germany should also push for an international conference on rebuilding Syria along with Türkiye, Austria and Jordan.
"If things normalize and stabilize in the home country, if there are prospects there, then there is an expectation to return," Spahn said. "But we will certainly only be able to judge that in a few days and weeks."
But the CDU/CSU focus on Syrian refugees drew criticism from other German politicians, including Katrin Göring-Eckardt, a Green and the vice president of parliament.
"After a day and a half, I find this an inappropriate domestic policy debate," Göring-Eckardt told rbb radio in Berlin.
If Syria becomes a safe country, people should and will return, but that debate should wait until after this period of great instability, she said.