Kobani _ On March 18,2018, the takeover of the Afrin region by the Turkish occupation and its allied factions resulted in the displacement of tens of thousands of native residents who were forced to leave their homes and flee to safer areas.

After more than eight years of displacement, and according to the agreement between the Syrian Democratic Forces and the interim Syrian government regarding the safe return of the displaced, the people of Afrin were the first to begin returning to their homes. This is the fifth batch, which included 623 families within the return convoys. Four previous batches had already departed from the Jazira region during the past period, as part of the ongoing return of the displaced to their areas despite the challenges and exiting circumstances.

 

Representatives of the Asayish forces in Rojava, representatives of the Syrian interim government, representatives of the city of Kobani and Aleppo province, the co‑chair of the Foreign Relations Department of the Autonomous Administration, Ilham Ahmed, and a delegation from the Kobani Administration participated in the farewell ceremony for the people of Afrin. There was also a large presence of Kobani residents.

The convoy gathered in the village of Rovi, south of Kobani, where the Kobani administrations issued a statement stressing the importance of the safe return of the displaced to their cities and the restoration of their normal lives. The statement was delivered by Ibrahim Muslim, Director of the City of Kobani, and Mezkin Khalil, Vice‑Co‑chair of the Autonomous Administration in Kobani.

 

Mezkin Khalil affirmed that the people of Kobani stood by the displaced of Afrin throughout their years of displacement, saying: "We have hosted the people of Afrin for more than eight years, sharing with them the pains and sufferings of displacement. Today, after a long journey of forced displacement, our people return to their homes and their land. We hope this step will be a new beginning that consolidates stability and peace in Syria, and that all the displaced will be able to return to their land carrying their culture, language, and identity."