Syria
Syrian Kurdish families return to their villages in Afrin on December 5, 2024. Photo: Rami al-Sayed/AFP
prev
next
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdish politician on Thursday said that the number of Kurds returning to Afrin in northwest Syria has significantly increased after the agreement between the new Syrian administration and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), as Arab settlers continue to leave the city.
“Exact statistics are not available, but after the March 10 agreement, Kurdish returns have significantly increased, to the point where people are returning to their areas minute by minute,” Ahmed Hassan told Rudaw. He is the head of the local council for the Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC) - a coalition of Kurdish political parties that is considered the main opposition in northeast Syria (Rojava).
“Arab settlers are also returning in large numbers, and there are villages where no Arabs remain,” Hassan added.
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi signed a landmark agreement on Monday to integrate the SDF into the Syrian state apparatus. The agreement recognizes the Kurds as an integral part of Syria, includes a countrywide ceasefire, and stipulates the return of displaced Syrians to their hometowns.
In 2018, Turkey and its allied Syrian militias seized control of Afrin, a Kurdish enclave in northwest Syria. Thousands of Kurds fled, many moving to the nearby Shahba region and families displaced from elsewhere in Syria moved into Afrin.
International organizations have recorded numerous human rights violations against Afrin’s Kurdish population since 2018, including killings, kidnappings, looting of agricultural crops, cutting down of olive trees, and imposing taxes on farmers.
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited Afrin in mid-February and met with locals, the majority of whom were Kurds. He pledged to remove armed groups and put an end to the violations, a representative from ENKS who attended the meeting told Rudaw.
Kurds returning to Afrin are no longer subjected to imprisonment or forced to pay levies. Displaced families returning to their homes had been forced to pay fees, ranging from $1,000 to $1,500.
Soran Hussein contributed to this report.
“Exact statistics are not available, but after the March 10 agreement, Kurdish returns have significantly increased, to the point where people are returning to their areas minute by minute,” Ahmed Hassan told Rudaw. He is the head of the local council for the Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC) - a coalition of Kurdish political parties that is considered the main opposition in northeast Syria (Rojava).
“Arab settlers are also returning in large numbers, and there are villages where no Arabs remain,” Hassan added.
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF chief Mazloum Abdi signed a landmark agreement on Monday to integrate the SDF into the Syrian state apparatus. The agreement recognizes the Kurds as an integral part of Syria, includes a countrywide ceasefire, and stipulates the return of displaced Syrians to their hometowns.
In 2018, Turkey and its allied Syrian militias seized control of Afrin, a Kurdish enclave in northwest Syria. Thousands of Kurds fled, many moving to the nearby Shahba region and families displaced from elsewhere in Syria moved into Afrin.
International organizations have recorded numerous human rights violations against Afrin’s Kurdish population since 2018, including killings, kidnappings, looting of agricultural crops, cutting down of olive trees, and imposing taxes on farmers.
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited Afrin in mid-February and met with locals, the majority of whom were Kurds. He pledged to remove armed groups and put an end to the violations, a representative from ENKS who attended the meeting told Rudaw.
Kurds returning to Afrin are no longer subjected to imprisonment or forced to pay levies. Displaced families returning to their homes had been forced to pay fees, ranging from $1,000 to $1,500.
Soran Hussein contributed to this report.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment