Return of displaced Syrian Kurds to Ras al-Ain suspended after attacks on first convoy
Authorities suspended the return of displaced Syrian Kurds to the northeastern town of Ras al-Ain on Monday after a large group of returnees came under attack, an incident that quickly ignited protests across Kurdish-majority parts of Syria and exposed the fragility of a landmark deal between Damascus and Kurdish-led forces.
The first batch of around 2,500 residents had been heading home under an agreement reached in January between the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which called for merging Kurdish institutions into the state and included provisions for the return of those uprooted by years of conflict.
Jawan Isso, from a committee representing displaced people from Ras al-Ain, told AFP that the convoy was attacked by "armed groups" after setting off. The deputy head of security forces in Hasakeh province, Mahmud Khalil Ali, said several suspects had been arrested but acknowledged that return trips were "temporarily suspended as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of residents."
"These trips will resume as soon as the situation stabilises and full protection is provided for the returnees," Ali said. A second group of Kurds had been expected to travel to the town in the coming days, according to Isso.
Tens of thousands of Kurds were displaced in 2019, when Turkey and allied Syrian fighters seized a strip of territory along the Turkish border, including Ras al-Ain, from Kurdish control during Syria's civil war. The town, known as Sari Kani in Kurdish, had a significant Arab population before the offensive, and rights groups say many Kurdish homes and properties were later seized or looted.
Monday's violence sent shockwaves through the region. In nearby Qamishli, an AFP correspondent saw angry protesters attempting to break into the headquarters of security forces, with Syrian officers pushing them back. In Kobane, a Kurdish-majority town further west, state television reported that demonstrators attacked government offices and pulled down the Syrian flag outside the local security headquarters. Authorities later imposed a curfew while searching for those responsible.
Mazloum Abdi, the leader of the Kurdish-led SDF who signed the January deal with Damascus, condemned the assault in a statement on X. "We understand the angry reactions in the Kurdish street in response to this assault, and at the same time, we call on our people to exercise self-restraint, refrain from being drawn into any irresponsible acts, and preserve our civil and security institutions," he wrote.
The deputy governor of Hasakeh, Ahmad al-Hilali, also condemned both the attacks on returnees and the subsequent violence targeting state institutions in areas such as the multiethnic city of Hasakeh. "A number of rioters have already been arrested in several areas," he said, vowing that there would be "no leniency" toward those who threaten "civil peace."
Earlier in the day, before the violence erupted, the atmosphere had been one of hope and anticipation. An AFP correspondent saw dozens of trucks loaded with furniture and belongings waiting to depart from near Hasakeh city, with men, women and children eager to make the journey north. "I've been waiting for this moment... It's like a dream for a person to return to their home," said Nora Khodor, a 37-year-old returnee.
Rawda Mohammed, 39, expressed similar feelings before the attacks. "We are very happy about returning," she said. "I asked about my home. They told me it is totally destroyed, but we did not get pessimistic because we're happy to return, and when we get there we'll see what we can do."
Isso said around 100,000 people from the Ras al-Ain area had applied to return, a sign of both the scale of displacement and the deep desire among Kurds to reclaim their homes. But Monday's events underscore the challenges facing the new Syrian authorities as they try to extend central control over territory that has been outside government reach for more than a decade.
The broader political context has shifted dramatically since the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Turkey launched successive cross-border offensives against Kurdish-led forces in northern Syria during the civil war, but the new Islamist-led authorities in Damascus have since sought to absorb former Kurdish-held areas into the state structure. The January agreement was meant to be a cornerstone of that transition, offering displaced Kurds a path home while integrating SDF forces into the national security apparatus.
What began as a long-awaited homecoming has now become a test of whether those commitments can be enforced on the ground. With tensions still running high in Qamishli and Kobane, local leaders are walking a difficult line between responding to public anger and preventing the kind of unrest that could unravel the fragile reconciliation process.
According to the United Nations, around 5.5 million people remain internally displaced in Syria after more than 13 years of civil war. For many of the Kurds waiting at the gates of Ras al-Ain, the path back home was never going to be easy — but few expected it to be blocked again so soon.