Syria’s Interior Ministry announced on Thursday that it had removed five million citizens from travel ban lists, out of a total of 8.3 million cases issued under the previous regime.

Speaking at a press conference in Damascus, Interior Ministry spokesperson Nour al-Din Baba said, “Travel bans and the stripping of civil and legal rights were among the most prominent abuses of the former regime against the Syrian people,” according to the state news agency SANA. He added that the ministry has been reviewing the 8.3 million cases since February and has cleared approximately five million names, with work continuing to complete the process in the coming months to ensure citizens’ rights and facilitate their daily lives.