About 800 Afrin Families Depart Qamishli in Largest Organized Return Yet

Organized convoy sends third group of Afrin returnees

At dawn on April 14, the third and largest organized convoy of displaced families from Afrin departed Qamishli for their home areas in the northern Aleppo countryside. Around 800 families gathered at Qamishli’s western entrance and left on coordinated buses and trucks under a phased return plan overseen by the presidential team. Spokesperson Ahmad al-Hilali described the operation as the biggest so far; earlier groups returned on March 9 (about 400 families) and April 4 (nearly 200 families). Authorities say additional groups will follow as logistical and security measures are expanded to facilitate safe, gradual movement.

Background and wider context

The returns form part of the January 2026 agreement between the Syrian government and the SDF, which includes provisions to enable displaced people to go back to their original areas alongside administrative and security arrangements. Many of the returnees were first displaced during Turkey’s 2018 "Olive Branch" offensive and later experienced repeated uprooting — including new displacement after military shifts in late 2024 — which left thousands in camps or temporary shelters across al-Shahba, Raqqa, al-Hasakah and Qamishli. Officials say the process aims to address security and service concerns and to continue in successive groups as conditions allow, as reported by Enab Baladi