Afrin returnees bring deceased relatives home in organized convoys

Displaced families return to Afrin with the remains of loved ones

Organized convoys that began in March 2026 have carried thousands of displaced people back to Afrin, and many returnees are also reclaiming the remains of relatives buried in cemeteries across Hasakah, Qamishli and northern Aleppo. The June 10 convoy transported about 1,700 families from Derik (al-Malikiya) and Qamishli; local officials say eight convoys have brought an estimated 15,000 people (3,000–4,000 families), while individual returns push the total to roughly 8,000 families, with authorities estimating that 90–95% of Afrin’s population has now returned.

Families described the transfers as the fulfillment of a long-held wish to lay loved ones to rest in their native soil after years of displacement following the 2018 Operation Olive Branch and later fighting. The reopening of roads after military changes in late 2024 and a January integration agreement helped enable returns; moving remains requires documents such as death certificates or identity verification from the Afrin Social Association and Asayish stamps. Returnees say reburying relatives in Afrin has been deeply emotional and is treated by local authorities as a humanitarian right, as reported by Syria Direct