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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdish family has been displaced six times within Syria, most recently fleeing to Qamishli following attacks by the Syrian army on Kurdish forces.
They fled Afrin to Shahba in 2018, when Turkey and the Syrian armed groups it backs seized the city, and have since been displaced across Aleppo, Tabqa, and Raqqa provinces. Last month, when the Syrian army launched an offensive against Kurdish forces, the family was forced to move once again, this time to Qamishli.
"When the attack began and they advanced toward us, we retreated and returned home. In Tabqa, our car broke down. We left it behind and fled in people's vehicles. I left my car behind," Rifaat Hussein Batal, a member of the family, told Rudaw on Wednesday.
They have left all their belongings and property behind. Now, the family shares a house with two other families in Qamishli.
They are now staying in the Tartab area, a former government military site. For the past 25 days, it has been crowded with newly displaced families and old ones.
Rudaw informed the Barzani Charity Foundation that around 200 families are in Tartab and have not received assistance. The organization immediately acted and sent aid.
According to figures provided by Kurdish authorities, following the Syrian army’s advance to SDF-held areas last month, around 9,000 Kurds — most of them originally from Afrin — were displaced from Raqqa and Tabqa to Hasaka province. They are now staying in around 150 shelters and private homes.
They fled Afrin to Shahba in 2018, when Turkey and the Syrian armed groups it backs seized the city, and have since been displaced across Aleppo, Tabqa, and Raqqa provinces. Last month, when the Syrian army launched an offensive against Kurdish forces, the family was forced to move once again, this time to Qamishli.
"When the attack began and they advanced toward us, we retreated and returned home. In Tabqa, our car broke down. We left it behind and fled in people's vehicles. I left my car behind," Rifaat Hussein Batal, a member of the family, told Rudaw on Wednesday.
They have left all their belongings and property behind. Now, the family shares a house with two other families in Qamishli.
They are now staying in the Tartab area, a former government military site. For the past 25 days, it has been crowded with newly displaced families and old ones.
Rudaw informed the Barzani Charity Foundation that around 200 families are in Tartab and have not received assistance. The organization immediately acted and sent aid.
According to figures provided by Kurdish authorities, following the Syrian army’s advance to SDF-held areas last month, around 9,000 Kurds — most of them originally from Afrin — were displaced from Raqqa and Tabqa to Hasaka province. They are now staying in around 150 shelters and private homes.
Viviyan Fetah contributed to this article from Qamishli, Syria.
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