The UN refugee agency has said that around 4,000 Syrian refugees have returned home from Jordan between mid-October and December 1. “At UNHCR, we have been recording refugees going back to Syria from as early as 2016. From 2016 to June this year over 17,000 refugees were recorded returning to Syria,” UNHCR Representative in Jordan Stefano Severe said in a statement. “Since the border crossing at Jaber opened on October 15, we have managed to confirm and verify 3,852 refugees who have returned to Syria up until December 1. Returns continue to be voluntarily. UNHCR is neither promoting nor facilitating refugees returning to Syria.” He said this winter, the agency received funds of 19 million Jordanian dinars issued in the form of cash assistance to almost 70,000 refugee families in Jordan. “This money is essential to buy basic goods such as gas and blankets, but also other supports other pressing needs such as healthcare.” Earlier this month, a Jordanian security source said that around 28,000 Syrians have returned home from Jordan since the border between the two countries was reopened in mid-October. About 650,000 Syrian refugees have registered with the United Nations in Jordan. Amman estimates that it has taken in close to 1.3 million refugees from its war-torn neighbor since the war in Syria broke out in March 2011. Known as Jaber on the Jordanian side and Nassib in Syria, the border is a key Middle East trade route.