Afrin delegation to visit Aleppo to facilitate return of Kurds IDPs: Politician

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A delegation of Afrin notables is set to visit the governor of Aleppo later this week to demand the expulsion of Arab families who were brought to Afrin and are currently residing in homes belonging to displaced Kurdish residents, a prominent politician told Rudaw on Sunday. The move is expected to pave the way for the return of Kurds who have been displaced from the city for nearly a decade.

A senior member of the the Kurdish National Council (KNC/ENKS) in Afrin, speaking to Rudaw on Sunday on condition of anonymity, said that "Arabs who have been brought from Deir ez-Zor have settled in Kurdish homes in Afrin and refuse to leave," adding that the settlers have "occupied hundreds of large houses and expensive villas, and they will not vacate them without government pressure."

The move comes following an agreement between the Kurdish Autonomous Administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) and the Syrian interim government that was intended to facilitate the return of displaced residents of Afrin and its surrounding areas.

Despite the agreement, many families have been unable to return, citing the continued occupation of their homes by Arab settlers.

The official further stated, "Afrin is a large and prosperous region. The Arabs from Deir ez-Zor do not want to give up this prosperous [area] easily and return to their own desert regions."

According to information obtained by Rudaw, the delegation will include intellectuals, writers, and activists from Afrin. They plan to raise the issue directly with the governor of Aleppo, Azzam al-Gharib, and call for immediate action to ensure that homes belonging to Kurdish citizens are vacated.

A member of the delegation told Rudaw that they will speak with the governor and demand that "the Arabs from Deir ez-Zor be sent back to their places of origin as soon as possible, so that Kurds can return to their own homes."

Azad Osman, a member of the Afrin local council affiliated with the ENKS, told Rudaw that "a convoy of 400 families was scheduled to return to Afrin, but their return has been delayed until now because the settlers refuse to vacate their homes."

Osman confirmed that the Afrin delegation would proceed with its planned visit to Aleppo to discuss the issue with local authorities.

On January 29, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian government reached an agreement which laid the groundwork for integrating SDF-affiliated military and civil institutions into Syrian state structures after weeks-long fighting.

The return of displaced persons was one of the key clauses in the agreement.

Afrin has been under the control of Turkish forces and allied Syrian opposition groups since early 2018, when the Turkish army and several Turkish-backed armed factions launched an offensive and captured the region in northern Syria.

Soran Hussein contributed to this article from Erbil, Kurdistan Region.