847 families begin return to Ras al-Ain countryside
Shafaq News- al-Hasakah
The first of two groups comprising 847 displaced families left al-Hasakah in northeastern Syria on Wednesday for villages surrounding Ras al-Ain (Serekaniye), as part of the seventh organized return operation, Mahmoud Jamil, spokesperson for the Ras al-Ain Displaced Persons Committee, told Shafaq News.
The families had been living in two displacement camps in al-Hasakah, Newroz camp in Derik, and temporary shelters set up in schools, Jamil said, adding that residents of Ras al-Ain town would return in the final stages, after families from surrounding villages, because of security and logistical concerns.
Shirin Al-Sheikh, one of the returnees, told Shafaq News that the journey marks the end of more than seven years of displacement. “Returning was a dream we never expected to come true,” she said, describing the difficult conditions awaiting returning families, with many homes damaged, looted, or destroyed and villages lacking reliable water, electricity, healthcare, and functioning schools.
She also urged the Syrian government and international organizations to restore essential services and help residents rebuild their lives without being displaced again.
The second group is scheduled to leave on Thursday.
Since August, six previous convoys have returned 3,278 families to Ras al-Ain and its countryside, along with villages around Tal Tamr, Zarkan, and Abu Rasin in northern al-Hasakah. However, returns to Ras al-Ain town have remained suspended since Kurdish families attempting to return were attacked in August, with subsequent convoys directed toward surrounding villages.
Ras al-Ain and Tal al-Abyad came under the control of Turkiye and allied Syrian opposition factions during the 2019 Operation Peace Spring offensive, which displaced more than 200,000 civilians, according to UN estimates.
