A new convoy of about 1,200 families from Afrin left al-Hasakah (northeastern Syria) on Saturday, May 9, heading back to their villages and towns in the Afrin area of Aleppo countryside.
Enab Baladi’s correspondent in al-Hasakah said the convoy is the fourth group of returnees. He added that preparations for its departure began Friday evening, before the families left Saturday morning toward Aleppo countryside.
Aleppo Governorate told Enab Baladi that families who own homes in Afrin will return directly to their houses, while housing is being secured for families who lost their homes or have no place to stay.
The governorate added that some houses had previously been built with support from Turkish organizations and were designated for displaced people, but are now vacant, so they are being used to shelter some returning families. According to the governorate, the relevant authorities are supervising the transfer of families from al-Hasakah to Afrin before handing the file over to the area’s administration, in cooperation with Social Affairs, the Syrian Civil Defense, and organizations operating there.
The al-Hasakah Media Directorate also reported that the convoy departed under the supervision of the presidential team, accompanied by Internal Security Forces in al-Hasakah and Aleppo governorates.
It added that coordination is also underway with the Syrian Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management, which is working to secure the support and supplies needed during the journey.
Previous Groups
The step comes as a continuation of previous groups returning Afrin residents. On April 14, the third group of displaced people from Afrin who had been living in Qamishli (al-Hasakah countryside) departed as part of an organized return program to their areas in northern Aleppo countryside, after years of displacement that affected thousands of families.
At the time, the western entrance to Qamishli city witnessed a gathering of returning families before convoys made up of buses and trucks headed toward the Afrin area, under prior logistical arrangements aimed at organizing the transfer process and ensuring the gradual arrival of returnees. Two previous groups had preceded it, as the first returned on March 9 and included about 400 families, while the second, on April 4, included nearly 200 families.
These movements come as part of implementing the agreement signed in January 2026 between the Syrian government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which includes provisions related to facilitating the return of displaced people to their original areas, along with administrative and security arrangements in areas of northeastern Syria. The return of displaced people from Afrin is considered one of the most prominent files linked to this agreement, as thousands of families displaced in recent years remain in northeastern Syria after settling there because of security and military conditions.
The roots of the displacement go back to early 2018, after Turkey, with the participation of factions from the Syrian National Army, launched Operation Olive Branch.
The operation ended with the attacking forces taking control of Afrin city in March of the same year, leading to the displacement of large numbers of residents, especially from the Kurdish community, toward northeastern Aleppo countryside. In the following years, these families settled in various areas of northeastern Syria, including Raqqa and Tabqa, as well as al-Hasakah and Qamishli, amid difficult living conditions inside camps and shelter centers.
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