Journey of displacement under fire

On January 19, 2026, a vehicle carrying 15 people, including children, youth, women, and elderly individuals came under attack by factions affiliated with the Syrian Interim Government, backed by the Turkish state and certain tribal mercenary groups, on the “Sabah al-Khair” road connecting Raqqa and al-Hasakah. The gunmen opened direct fire on the vehicle, striking Samira Abdul Rahman in the head and killing her as she held her five-month-old daughter. Two young men were also shot three times in their legs. The vehicle was disabled by the gunfire, leaving the wounded and the body stranded among the children until midnight.

This is the story of two families from Afrin who faced this fate due to attacks by Syrian Interim Government factions in Raqqa one among thousands of similar stories. Uncle Qazkali Khalil recounts the long journey of displacement endured by his family.

Qazkali’s family originates from the village of Çeqela in the Afrin region. In 2018, when the Turkish state and its allied factions attacked Afrin, the family’s forced displacement began.

Initially, they moved from Çeqela to the town of Mabata. After one month, they relocated to central Afrin city. As attacks reached the city center, the family fled to al-Shahba, where they remained for eight years under harsh and difficult conditions. Following the renewed attacks on November 27, 2024, they undertook a difficult journey on December 4 to Raqqa.

A year later, on January 6, 2026, Syrian Interim Government factions backed by the Turkish state launched new attacks against Kurdish communities. The assaults began in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods of Aleppo. On January 17, Deir Hafer and al-Tabqa were attacked, followed by an assault on Raqqa on January 18.

Thousands of families from Afrin and Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain), as well as Kurdish families living in al-Tabqa and Raqqa, fled toward al-Hasakah in Rojava due to the violence. Qazkali’s family, who had been residing in Raqqa, once again found themselves on the road to displacement.

He explains that they were unable to leave Raqqa on the night of January 18 and waited until dawn. On the morning of January 19, they gathered essential belongings and loaded them into a vehicle. While they were still at home, much of their property was looted. The nine-member family, along with six neighbors and their children, set out toward al-Hasakah.

Qazkali continues “We were stopped at three checkpoints for long hours. About 100 meters past the third checkpoint, in the area known as ‘Sabah al-Khair,’ bullets rained down on us from behind. I did not stop, I kept driving.

we were showered by bullets. The tires burst and the rubber shredded, but I continued driving on the metal rims. I drove like that for 30 to 40 kilometers before finally stopping.”

When Qazkali looked into the back of the vehicle, he saw that their neighbor, Samira Abdul Rahman still holding her five-month-old daughter had been shot in the head and killed. The family gently took the infant from her arms. Two of Qazkali’s sons had also been shot in their legs.

The family remained on the cold roadside with the wounded and the body until 2:00 a.m. They attempted to reach medical facilities, but armed factions had blocked the roads, preventing anyone from reaching them. Later, a vehicle from a nearby village transported them to an area near al-Shaddadi, but that vehicle also broke down. Eventually, ambulances passed by and transferred them to al-Hasakah.

After the intensity of the attacks subsided, Qazkali sent people back to check on their vehicle. They found that everything they owned money and some gold had been stolen. Only the bare metal frame of the car remained on the road.

The family later moved from al-Hasakah to the city of Qamishlo, settling in the Mohammad Ali Zainal School, where 46 families from Afrin are currently sheltering.

He concluded “We have nothing left. We need all kinds of assistance. Some aid has reached us, but since we arrived in Qamishlo with only the clothes we were wearing, we require more support. We want to return to Afrin, but we will not return as long as the mercenaries of the Turkish state remain there. We will not go back until we are one hundred percent certain they have left.”

ANHA