BEIRUT, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Around 200 Syrian refugees returned to their homeland on Tuesday from Shaba'a in Lebanon through the Masnaa Border Crossing, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Refugees gathered in Shaba'a public school, waiting for buses to take them back to their country under strict supervision by the Lebanese General Security Directorate, NNA said.

According to the NGO Human Rights Watch, more than 1 million Syrian refugees are registered with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Lebanon, while the government estimates the true number of Syrian refugees in the country at 1.5 million.

The prolonged stay of Syrian refugees in Lebanon over the past five years has become an economic and social burden for the country, prompting the government to facilitate a safe return for refugees to their homeland.