400 families of Afrin IDPs head from Hasaka to Afrin

A convoy carrying hundreds of displaced families from Afrin departed a while ago, heading towards their original areas, as part of the implementation of the recent agreement held between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Interim Government. The convoy was escorted by the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) and overseen by Mahmoud Khalil; the deputy commander of the Asayish in Hasaka, and Nesrin Abdullah; the leader in the Asayish forces, along with other government officials involved in this matter.

The first group comprises approximately 400 families, totaling around 3,000 people, as the convoy traveled from the city of Hasaka towards Afrin via a route passing through Raqqa, Tabqa, and Aleppo, before reaching the Afrin countryside. The convoy consists of hundreds of private vehicles belonging to the displaced families, in addition to dozens of buses provided for their transport by the Afrin-Shahba Displaced Persons Council and the Syrian Civil Defense.

A number of politicians and leaders from Rojava were present at the departure point, including Ilham Ahmed; the co-chair of the Foreign Relations Department of the Autonomous Administration; Leyla Karaman; the co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council, and Nour Eddin Ahmed; the governor of Hasaka, to inspect the assembly point and the measures taken to ensure the smooth organization of the journey.

Families residing in Qamishlo had already departed for Hasaka in the early morning, and joined the convoy of those returning from Hasaka and heading towards Afrin.

The Internal Security Forces in Hasaka announced on March 7th that the first group of Afrin displaced people would return to their homes on March 9, noting that this group would head to Shia, Janders, and Mobata in the Afrin countryside.

The deputy commander of the Internal Security Forces in Hasaka, Mahmoud Khalil, told the media outlets on Monday that work is underway to open a security crossing towards Afrin within three days to facilitate the return of the remaining displaced people, with the aim of returning all displaced people to their areas before Newroz on March 21st.