Final convoy of displaced families departs Qamishli for Syria's Afrin under government plan

A convoy of 1,020 families departed the city of Qamishli in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on Thursday, heading to Afrin under a government program to return displaced civilians to their areas of origin. Mustafa Abdi, a member of a presidential-level team overseeing the returns, said the convoy left under security escort with ambulances and medical teams. He added that the Syrian government would continue facilitating returns once security conditions are met, with three engineering teams — including mine-clearing vehicles belonging to the Syrian army's 60th Division — operating in the area to clear mines and wartime remnants. Abdi said returns to Ceylanpınar, a sub-district of Afrin, depend on the completion of demining work. Once roads are declared safe, around 12,500 families from Ceylanpınar are expected to be brought back. Ravan Alu, a returning Afrin resident displaced since 2018, said more than 70 percent of Afrin's residents had returned this year, and described the convoy as the last group of Afrin families still living in displacement camps in Hasakeh province. Hasakeh Deputy Governor Ahmed Hilali confirmed the convoy carried roughly 1,000 families and said they were the final group of Afrin-origin residents remaining in the province.