ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Syrian government is responsible for fostering "safe" environment for ethnic and religious groups, the associate spokesperson for the UN chief told Rudaw, following an incident earlier in the day in which rioters attacked Kurdish internally displaced persons returning to their hometown in the country's north.
“It is important that everyone of the nationalities, the minorities, religious minorities, ethnic minorities in Syria feel safe in their country,” Daniela Gross De Almeida told Rudaw’s Namo Abdulla on Monday, responding to a question about the UN’s stance about an incident in Gri Spi (Tel Abyad) in which Kurdish internally displaced persons (IDPs) were attacked upon returning to their homes after seven years of displacement following the 2019 Turkish offensive in the region.
“This is the responsibility of the interim authorities, the authorities to ensure that this is the case,” she affirmed.
Earlier on Monday, more than 100 hundred Kurdish families were trapped in the Gri Spi district administration building for more than eight hours after being attacked by rioters.
"We are currently besieged in the local administration's building. Smoke is all around us. This is what we are going through," an unidentified individual was heard saying in one of the videos circulating on social media.
The families returned to their homes “at the request of the Gri Spi director” to present documents establishing ownership of their homes and properties after seven years of displacement, the Gri Spi Displaced Persons Committee said.
The besieged families remained at the building from 10:00 am to around 6:30 pm, when security forces arrived at the scene, Rudaw’s Viviyan Fetah reported.
Furthermore, rioters were also seen overturning vehicles and setting them on fire.
A Syrian rights monitor estimated that about 20 cars belonging to the returnees were either burned or damaged in the incident.
Meanwhile, the Internal Security Forces in the Raqqa province, which oversees jurisdiction in Gri Spi, said such actions “undermine security and stability and harm citizens’ property.”
The province’s security forces said they will “work to uncover those involved and hold them accountable in accordance with applicable laws and regulations,” urging restraint against any act that threatens “civil peace.”
The attack marks the second incident of this magnitude that Kurdish IDPs have been subjected to. A convoy carrying a batch of Kurdish IDPs displaced from Sare Kane (Ras al-Ayn), east of Gri Spi, was attacked by settlers and rioters in August. Sare Kane also experienced an exodus of Kurdish residents following the 2019 Turkish offensive.
Settlers reportedly ask for an average of $10,000 to leave the houses they occupy.
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