Displaced Syrian families staying in the Lebanese northern city of Tripoli are looking for a quick return, after a ceasefire went into effect at about 6:00 a.m. (0300 GMT) Thursday in line with a deadline set by special envoy of the United Nations and Arab League, Kofi Annan, to end the year-long deadly unrest in Syria.

Many of these families told Xinhua that they will move back to their hometown as soon as they are sure of the commitment to the ceasefire and the withdrawal of both the Syrian army and the militants from streets and urban areas.

There are around 2,000 Syrian families currently staying in Tripoli. Some of them can pay the rent for the apartments they are living in, while the others are relying on the aid provided by charities or religious institutions funded by the Gulf Arab states, according to, Ahmad Moussa, spokesman of the Syrian Refugees Commission in Lebanon.

Khaled el Sheikh, who came from Syria's central city of Homs and is now living in a rented apartment in Tripoli with his wife and three children, told Xinhua, "I will be back to Syria as soon as possible once I am sure the security situation has stabilized."

"I will not hesitate to return as the living conditions in Lebanon are hard and there are no sufficient aid to cover all our needs. We were living in better conditions in Syria. The state provided us with health care and education for our children. In Lebanon the situation is different. You have to secure a monthly income not less than 1,000 (U.S.) dollars to survive," the 45-year- old man said.

"I did not carry weapons in Syria and did not participate in the demonstrations against the regime, although I do not support it. And when I decided to leave my country, it was out of fear for my life and my children's. Today my decision to return is final and I do not fear being arrested or being interrogated by the security forces," he said.

Another 50-year-old man who insisted on using the pseudonym of Abou Mohammad told Xinhua, "I am from Baba Amr in Homs and left the city with my family during the confrontation because the battles came very near to my house."

"I will go back as soon as I am sure the ceasefire is enduring. I am not too optimistic, but our return is a must, as we cannot survive in Lebanon through waiting at the doors of charities so I can receive the necessary aid. I own a boutique in Homs and can have a decent life there," he said.

The office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Lebanon recently announced that the number of displaced Syrians registered in northern Lebanon has reached 8,148. The commission's teams in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon indicate the presence of more than 5,000 displaced persons, most of them staying with host families in the west of Bekaa while more than 1,200 people distributed in the areas of Ersal, Al Qaa and Sahl.