Largest convoy of Afrin IDPs departs Qamishli for return to homes
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The largest convoy to date of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Afrin on Sunday left Qamishli city in northeastern Syria heading back to their original homes in the Afrin region in the country’s northwest.
The convoy is the fifth since organized returns began and is the largest so far, comprising an estimated 1,600 families of the Kurds who were forced to leave their homes in 2018 following the Olive Branch military operation that was launched by Turkey and Syrian armed factions to wash away the People’s Protection Units (YPG).
On Saturday morning, the fourth batch of Afrin IDPs — numbering around 1,000 families — also set off from Hasakah city toward their home areas in Afrin.
The first group of displaced families, about 400 households, returned to their original homes on March 9. A second group of around 200 families arrived on April 4, followed by a third convoy of approximately 800 families that reached Afrin on April 14.
The returns come amid ongoing efforts to facilitate the voluntary return of displaced residents to their communities after years of displacement.