BEIRUT — Palestinian refugees from the Sbeineh refugee camp in Rif Dimashq, Syria, started returning to their homes last week, some four years after the Palestinian camp was devastated by war and then shuttered by the Syrian army.
The Syrian army retook the town of Sbeineh from rebel groups in November 2013 after a fierce military campaign that battered the town and the Palestinian camp of the same name, leaving homes in tatters and infrastructure in ruins. The camp remained closed to civilians since then, with front lines in Daraya and south Damascus that were active until recently just a few miles away.