Hundreds of Syrians leave Lebanon for long-awaited reunions

Hundreds of displaced Syrians left Lebanon for their war-torn homeland Thursday in a repatriation that will reunite them with relatives they have not seen for years. But many of them also are leaving behind loved ones who are staying in the tiny Arab nation that has become home to the highest percentage of refugees in the world.

Syrian refugees gather in their vehicles getting ready to cross into Syria from the eastern Lebanese border town of Arsal, Lebanon, Thursday, June 28, 2018. About 400 Syrians are expected to make the crossing on Thursday, after having requested permission from the Lebanese and Syrian governments. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Mohammed Suleiman Darwish, 76, was among those who left this border town for Syria with his 9-year-old granddaughter, Israa, who has not seen her parents since 2013 and will meet younger siblings who were born at home while she sought safety in Lebanon.

Darwish and his granddaughter were among a batch of about 300 Syrians crammed into trucks, tractors and other vehicles piled with mattresses and blankets. They began crossing the border for an uncertain future.

A Lebanese soldier stands guard as Syrian refugees gather in their vehicles getting ready to cross into Syria from the eastern Lebanese border town of Arsal, Lebanon, Thursday, June 28, 2018. Dozens of Syrian refugees in Lebanon have started to cross the border, going back home to war-torn Syria. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

When Syrian government forces and their allies launched a wide offensive on Syria's Qalamoun region in 2013, young Israa was staying with her paternal grandparents, who decided to take her with them to Lebanon. Israa's parents were in the same village of Suhul but stayed at home as Syrian troops marched in.

Now Darwish and Israa are heading back to Suhul.

But he is leaving his 63-year-old wife, Baseema, in Lebanon while he repairs their badly damaged home before she can rejoin him. She will stay in Lebanon with her other son and his family.

Syrian refugees gather in and near their vehicles getting ready to cross into Syria from the eastern Lebanese border town of Arsal, Lebanon, Thursday, June 28, 2018. Dozens of Syrian refugees in Lebanon have started to cross the border, going back home to war-torn Syria. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

"I missed my parents a lot when I lived here," said Israa, who wore blue jeans, a white-and-blue sweater and flip-flops as she sat on the ground next to her grandparents before heading to Syria. "I spoke with them regularly by telephone, but now I even forgot how they look."

When Israa left Syria in 2013, her younger sister, Aya, was 2. Since then, two other sisters and a brother, Youssef, were born, she said.

"I want to see them today," said the green-eyed girl who seemed excited about the trip.

Darwish's wife said her other son has a job in Lebanon.

"I hope that the war that splits us ends, and we can all gather again in Syria," she said as she put her 9-month-old granddaughter Fatima in her lap.

The small exodus is part of a repatriation program that the Lebanese government says is voluntary — the first batch of refugees to return to Syria from the border town of Arsal this year.

Khaled Abdul-Aziz, a Syrian who heads a committee for the returnees, said 472 Syrians were expected to make the crossing Thursday after requesting permission from the Lebanese and Syrian governments. They are part of a total of 3,194 Syrians who have registered to return, he said, adding that the rest will head back in batches in the coming weeks.

Syrian refugees gather in their vehicles getting ready to cross into Syria from the eastern Lebanese border town of Arsal, Lebanon, Thursday, June 28, 2018. Dozens of Syrian refugees in Lebanon have started to cross the border, going back home to war-torn Syria. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

The General Security Directorate, which is in charge of foreigners in Lebanon, said in a statement later Thursday that 294 Syrians had headed back. It did not give an explanation but apparently not all those who were registered had departed.

The repatriations come amid a dispute between the government of Lebanon and the U.N.'s refugee agency, which Beirut accuses of trying to discourage refugees from going home. UNHCR rejects the charges.

Lebanon hosts around 1 million registered Syrians — roughly a quarter of Lebanon's population — and officials have said that the country can no longer afford the strain on its fragile economy.

U.N. officials and rights groups have expressed concern over the organized repatriations, calling them premature as violence and a government crackdown continue in Syria.

Lama Fakih, deputy director of the Middle East region for Human Rights Watch, said Syrians are often driven to leave by "oppressive" living conditions in Lebanon, including a lack of residency rights, restrictions on their movement and inability to enroll children in school.

In Arsal, the refugees gathered in the town's Wadi Hmeid area, where a Lebanese security officer checked their IDs against a list before allowing them to cross into Syria.

Sumaya Ramadan, left, sits next to her paralysed 92-year-old uncle Abdul-Moati Abu-Zeid, right, who laid on a mattress not moving or speaking, in a pickup truck getting ready to cross into Syria from the eastern Lebanese border town of Arsal, Lebanon, Thursday, June 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Most are farmers and their families, and some of them rode pickup trucks and tractors.

The Syrian army, backed by its allies Russia and Iran, has regained more territory from the rebels, Lebanon's government has argued that many areas in Syria have become stable enough for refugees to return.

But the U.N. is more cautious, saying Syria is not yet safe.

Lebanon's general security chief Abbas Ibrahim said Wednesday the UNHCR has been notified about the return of the Syrians "so they can bear their responsibility."

But Lisa Abou Khaled, a spokeswoman for UNHCR in Beirut, said the agency is not organizing the returns. She said the agency's representatives are only present at the border crossings to answer questions. She confirmed that authorities informed them of the repatriations.

"UNHCR, as in previous movements ... will be present at the departure point to attend to any query or any needs the refugees may have as they prepare to leave to Syria," she said.

Mohammed Suleiman Darwish and his granddaughter Israa wait to cross into Syria from the eastern Lebanese border town of Arsal, Lebanon, Thursday, June 28, 2018. Darwish goes to Syria to give his granddaughter Israa to her parents and fix their home before she follows him. About 400 Syrians are expected to make the crossing on Thursday, after having requested permission from the Lebanese and Syrian governments. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Human Rights Watch's Fakih said research on Syrians in Arsal revealed "oppressive conditions" that led many to return. A similar convoy left Arsal last year for areas held by insurgents in Syria. It was not immediately clear what happened to those who returned.

Arsal Mayor Basil al-Hujeiry said more than 3,000 Syrians have registered to return home from the border town. Syria has asked that the repatriations take place in phases, he added.

The U.N. refugee agency "is fully respectful of the decision of the Lebanese government and we fully respect the decision of the families to return. We don't interfere," said Josep Zapater, head of the UNHCR office in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley.

Some young men have said they don't want to return to Syria for fear of being drafted into the military. Those going back Thursday said they were promised they won't be drafted for six months after their return.

"I am really scared about being drafted to the army, but the situation in Syria now is more safe," said Salah-Eddine Abdul-Aziz, 26, who is heading to his hometown of Fleeta with his wife and son. "All I want is to return to Syria and not leave it again. Enough of being a refugee."

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans have elected South Dakota Sen. John Thune as the next Senate majority leader, completing a momentous shift in their leadership that elevates a top deputy of Mitch McConnell into a key position as President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.

Thune, 63, is in his fourth Senate term and has promised to work closely with Trump, despite differences the two have had over the years, and will be a crucial part of the incoming president’s efforts to push through his policy agenda.

Thune beat out two other competitors, Sens. John Cornyn and Rick Scott, by gaining majority support from GOP senators in two rounds of secret ballots behind closed doors. Scott was eliminated on the first round and the final vote between Thune and Cornyn was 29-24, according to several people who requested anonymity to discuss the private meeting.

Republicans are replacing McConnell, the longest serving Senate party leader, as they prepare to take majority control of the Senate with the 53 seats they won in last week’s elections. It was the first competitive election for Republican leader in three decades and Senate Republicans' first regime change since McConnell became GOP leader in 2007.

Thune's election represents a major shift in the upper chamber's GOP conference as many senators have been eager to move on from McConnell's long and powerful reign. But it will also be a complicated test for Thune as he will have to manage a conference that is often divided over policy, navigate Trump's demands of the legislative branch and secure policy wins for the president as he begins his second term.

Speaking to reporters immediately after he was elected, Thune said that it is a “new day in the United States Senate.” He said his majority will work to toughen border security laws, lower energy costs and overturn regulations they see as burdensome.

“We are excited to reclaim the majority and to get to work with our colleagues in the House to enact President Trump’s agenda,” Thune said.

As the candidates tried to win over individual senators, all of their pitches centered around how close they would be to Trump. That was a more difficult task for Cornyn and Thune, who broke publicly with Trump over his effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by Trump's supporters. At the time, Thune called Trump's actions “inexcusable.”

In recent months, Thune has worked to smooth over that relationship, visiting Trump in his Florida home and consulting with him on how to implement the incoming president’s agenda. Thune told The Associated Press over the summer that he views their potential relationship as a professional one. If they both won their elections, Thune said then, “we’ve got a job to do.”

As he made his case, Thune has made clear that he will listen to Trump's demands. When Trump posted on X Sunday that the new leader “must agree” to allow him to appoint Cabinet members and others when the Senate is on recess, avoiding confirmation votes, Thune quickly responded in a statement that the Senate must “quickly and decisively” act to get nominees in place and that “all options are on the table to make that happen, including recess appointments.”

Speaking to reporters after he was elected, Thune noted that “the Senate has an advise and consent rule in the Constitution" but that they will do everything they can to get his nominees in place.

“How that happens remains to be seen,” Thune said.

Thune’s win is all the more extraordinary because of his 2004 election to the Senate – defeating then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle after arguing during the campaign that Daschle had lost his South Dakota roots during his years in Democratic leadership. Twenty years later, Thune will become majority leader himself.

Well liked and a respected communicator, Thune has been perceived as a front-runner for much of the year. Like McConnell, he hails from the Republican Party’s more traditional wing.

He is a former chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee and has held the Republican whip position — no. 2 in party leadership — since 2019. He took over for McConnell for several weeks last year when he was on a medical leave, a move that was widely seen as an audition of sorts as speculation surrounded McConnell's future.

As he geared up to run for leader, Thune spent much of the year campaigning for his colleagues. According to his aides, he raised more than $31 million to elect Senate Republicans this cycle, including a $4 million transfer from his own campaign accounts to the Senate’s main campaign arm.

The election was difficult for many in the conference who saw Thune and Cornyn as similar choices. They are alike on policy, voting generally in step with the conference but working with Democrats at times. Cornyn is a longtime member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who took a leading role on bipartisan gun legislation two years ago.

But the two differed on whether the leader should be term limited — a key demand from some in the conservative wing. Cornyn pushed for limits, while Thune did not.

Scott, the former governor of Florida, was elected to the Senate in 2018 and quickly positioned himself as a foil to McConnell, running against him for leader in 2022 and aligning with Utah Sen. Mike Lee and others who have been highly critical of the current leadership.

As Thune and Cornyn wooed their colleagues one by one all year, Scott was tied up in his own reelection race. He handily defeated Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell by more than 10 points.

In the week since the election, Scott aggressively stepped up his campaign for GOP leader, campaigning publicly as the candidate closest to Trump and winning endorsements from people who are close to the former and future president, such as billionaire Elon Musk. But some questioned whether that strategy might backfire.

South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, Thune's home state colleague, said that he prefers the way that Thune and Cornyn have “handled it one-on-one with everybody,” but that he had talked to Scott as well. “We’ve got three qualified individuals,” he said ahead of the race.

Still, both Thune and Cornyn adopted some of Scott's ideas as they worked to win over voters. Thune told the conference in a candidate forum Tuesday evening that he would allow more amendments on the floor and improve communication from McConnell's regime, addressing frequent complaints from that wing of the conference.

McConnell did not say who he was supporting, but said after the vote that Thune’s victory was a “clear endorsement of a consummate leader.”

“The American people elected Republicans to restore stability and order after four years of Washington Democrats’ failure," McConnell said. "John Thune will take the reins with a tremendous opportunity to lead this transformation, and Senate Republicans stand behind him, ready to get to work.”

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., speaks at a campaign watch party on election night Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Bonita Springs, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

FILE - Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, speaks to media, Oct. 18, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., center, welcomes incoming Republican senators in his office at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024. From left are, Sen.-elect Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., Sen.-elect Jim Banks, R-Ind., Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Sen.-elect John Curtis, R-Utah, Sen.-elect David McCormick, R-Pa., and Sen.-elect Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)