Friedrich Merz, chancellor candidate and leader of the Christian Democrats (CDU), speaks to delegates at a CDU party congress in Berlin, Germany, on Feb. 3, 2025. Maja Hitij/Getty Images
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Nov. 3 said that the civil war in Syria is now over and refugees can start to return home, whether that be voluntarily or through deportations.
Merz told reporters during a visit to Husum in Schleswig-Holstein: “There are now no longer any grounds for asylum in Germany, and therefore we can also begin with repatriations.
