Mehdi al-Shayesh thought he would quickly resettle in his central Syrian home town after Bashar al-Assad was ousted, but like many others stuck in camps, he found his home uninhabitable.

"We were unbelievably happy when the regime fell," the 40-year-old said from his small, concrete-block house in Atme displacement camp, one of the largest and most crowded in the Idlib area in the northwest.

But "when we reached our village" in Hama province "we were disappointed", said the father of four, who has been displaced since 2012.

"Our home used to be like a small paradise... but it was hit by bombing." Now, after years of abandonment, it "is no longer habitable", he told AFP.

Assad's December 8 ouster sparked the hope of return to millions of displaced across Syria and refugees abroad. However, many now face the reality of finding their homes and basic infrastructure badly damaged or destroyed.

Syria's transitional authorities are counting on international support, particularly from wealthy Gulf Arab states, to rebuild the country after almost 14 years of........

© International Business Times