The town is strategically important, as there is a freshwater spring that supplies four million inhabitants in the city of Damascus. It was one of the favorite tourist destinations due to its nature and location on both banks of the Barada River.

Extremist-leaning groups occupied the city from 2012 until January 2017, when it was liberated by the Syrian army after fierce fighting.

During a ceremony held on the occasion, the Governor Safwan Abu Sadaa paid tribute to the soldiers who gave their lives to liberate Ain Al-Fijeh from terrorists, and praised the efforts to aid the displaced in returning home with dignity and safety.

The local goverment managed to remove the rubble from the streets, rehabilitate and put into service the water, electricity and wastewater infrastructure. Procedures were also taken to ease the return of families, the mayor of the city, Mohammed Shabli, stated.

He revealed that four thousand trees will be planted to recover the green layer, greatly affected by terrorist acts, and measures were adopted so that tourist facilities reopen as they were before the war.

The Minister of Municipal Administration, Hussein Makhlouf, announced in recent statements that more than five million internally displaced and refugees from abroad returned to their homes, half of them after 2018.

The minister added that hard work is being done to encourage the displaced to return despite the escalation of sanctions imposed by the West, which include the hydrocarbon sector.

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