Hundreds of Displaced Families Return to Sere Kaniye After Seven Years

Hawar News

Hundreds of displaced families have begun returning to Sere Kaniye after seven years of displacement.

Hundreds of displaced families from Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ayn), currently living in the city of Hasakah in western Kurdistan (Rojava), began returning to their hometown on Monday, 10 August 2026, marking the first organised wave of returns after seven years of displacement. The move is expected to pave the way for thousands of other displaced residents to return to their homes and villages.

Preparations for the return began on Sunday, as families dismantled their tents, packed their belongings and loaded furniture in readiness to leave the displacement camps and travel back to their communities.

The residents of Sere Kaniye were forced to flee following the Turkish military offensive, supported by allied armed factions, launched on 9 October 2019. The operation displaced thousands of people from the city and surrounding rural areas.

Speaking to Hawar News Agency, Zahra Samou, an official with the Committee for the Displaced of Sere Kaniye, said the first convoy had been carefully organised after years of hardship.

"We have begun registering the names of returnees and providing financial assistance to help them meet their immediate needs as they return to homes that have largely been destroyed," she said. "We are also coordinating with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide vehicles for transporting families and their belongings."

Samou described conditions in the city and surrounding villages as extremely difficult due to extensive destruction. She said the financial support was intended to help returning families secure essential supplies and begin rebuilding their homes.

She confirmed that the first convoy departed on Monday morning from outside the Washokani camp in the town of Tuwaina, north of Hasakah, adding that the return was taking place "safely and with dignity".

The registration process, she noted, would continue beyond the first convoy to allow more displaced families to return. Since Sunday, the committee has been working with local institutions in Derik, Darbasiyah, Tell Tamer and Amuda to register families that had not previously enrolled. Registration will also be expanded to the major cities of Qamishli and Hasakah, with further details on the timetable and procedures to be announced through the committee's official platforms.

The first convoy includes more than 600 displaced families returning to Sere Kaniye. It had originally been scheduled to depart on 6 August but was postponed after some families required additional time to pack their belongings and complete preparations for their return.

The return operation forms part of efforts to implement the provisions of the 29 January agreement between Syria's interim government and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which includes commitments to facilitate the safe return of displaced people to their areas of origin and promote stability in the affected regions.


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