The Iraqi government said Wednesday (July 25th) that it will compensate Iraqi refugees returning from Syria to help them rebuild their lives in their country.

Ali al-Dabbagh, the Iraqi government spokesperson, told Al-Shorfa the cabinet "decided to give each Iraqi family returning from Syria a sum of money as a non-refundable grant to help them find housing and start their own businesses".

Al-Dabbagh said the "the grant amount will vary based on the number of family members and their health and living conditions".

Children in these families will be allowed to return to government schools, and government employees will be reinstated in their jobs, he said.

The government instructed the Ministry of Displacement and Migration to open special files for all returning Iraqis in the next few days to ensure compensation is paid, al-Dabbagh said.

More than 20,000 Iraqis have returned to Iraq from Syria, he said.