On January 16, over 3,000 displaced civilians returned to their villages and towns on the western bank of the Euphrates River after it had been secured by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
The SANA said that all the government institutions in the southeastern Deir Ezzor countryside were relaunched to provide the needed public services to the locals returning to their homes.
Major General Shawqi Yousef Chairman of the Security and Military Committee in the Eastern Region said during a ceremony to welcome the returning civilians in Mayadin city, that the area has been fully cleared from mines and IEDs planted by ISIS.
Demining units of the Russian Army were deployed to Deir Ezzor once the ISIS siege on the city was broken to clear the area from ISIS IEDs and to train the demining teams of the SAA.
During the ceremony, leaders of the local tribes thanked to the SAA and its allies for their efforts to liberate their villages from ISIS terrorists and stressed their support for the SAA in the war on terrorism, according to SANA.
The upcoming months will likely witness the return of tens of thousands of civilians who had fled their villages and towns on the western bank of the Euphrates River towards the area held by US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) during the battle against ISIS.