Syria’s Sere Kaniye Kurds protest Turkish policies, demand return
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – Displaced residents from Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) in northeastern Syria staged on Tuesday a protest at the Washokani camp in Hasakah countryside, denouncing Turkish policies in their city, which has been under Turkish occupation since October 2019.
Protesters denounced the raising of Turkish and Pakistani flags over official institutions in the city and rejected reported Turkish efforts to purchase homes and lands belonging to displaced Kurdish residents.
They carried banners demanding the right of safe return, condemning demographic change, and displaying photos of the Turkish bombardment of Sere Kaniye during the 2019 invasion, carried out with the participation of Syrian National Army (SNA) factions.
“We demand to return to our homes after nearly six years of displacement,” Nawaf Hamada, one of the protesters, told North Press. “We also reject Turkish policies aimed at buying our lands, and we refuse the imposition of any new reality or the raising of any foreign flag on our soil.”
Last week, the “Sere Kaniye Displaced Committee” voiced concern over what it described as Turkish attempts, in coordination with “illegitimate” civil and military councils in the city, to buy properties belonging to displaced Kurdish residents.
The committee warned that such measures are part of wider demographic changes in the region, which have prevented thousands of original residents from returning to their homes since the Turkish-led incursion.
Nearly six years after the invasion, displaced families say they continue to face dire humanitarian conditions in camps and host communities, while their city remains under the control of Turkish forces and allied factions.
Sere Kaniye, also known as Ras al-Ain, is a historically diverse city in northeastern Syria’s Hasakah Governorate, located on the Syria-Turkey border. Before the civil war, it was home to Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, Armenians, Turkmen, and Yazidis, and was an agricultural hub supporting local livelihoods.
In October 2019, Turkish forces and affiliated SNA factions captured the city during Operation Peace Spring, displacing around 300,000 civilians and causing widespread destruction. Since the occupation, residents—particularly Kurds—have faced forced displacement, property seizures, demographic changes, and obstacles preventing their return.