ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - As preparations begin for the first convoy of displaced Kurdish families to return to Afrin under a new agreement between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Damascus, many residents say fear and uncertainty are preventing them from going back.
Zakiya Mustafa Murad, a displaced resident from Afrin, told Rudaw's Viviyan Fetah in northeastern Hasaka province on Thursday that security concerns remain her main obstacle.
“We are afraid of their [the factions'] movements; they might hit us, they might kill us, or they might expel us. That is what we are afraid of,” she said.
Aras Shukri, another displaced person, voiced similar concerns, pointing to the continued presence of armed groups affiliated with the Syrian Arab Army in Afrin.
“Even if we return, the Amshat [militiamen] are in my house. If I go, what am I supposed to say to them? If I tell them to leave, problems will arise," Shukri said, adding that "previously, they committed killings, caused problems, and looted. We left that place for the sake of our honor and dignity.”
The Suleiman Shah Division, commonly known as al-Amshat, along with the Hamza Division (al-Hamzat), are Turkey-backed armed factions that have resisted integration into Syria’s new military structure formed after the ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
Many families in Afrin, a predominantly Kurdish enclave in northwest Syria, have experienced repeated displacement.
They first fled in 2018 during the Turkish-backed offensive. They were displaced again in 2024 when the former Assad regime was ousted, and for a third time this year amid renewed fighting between the interim government and Kurdish forces in northern and northeast Syria (Rojava).
International organizations have since documented numerous human rights violations against the remaining Kurdish population, including looting, property seizures, and abuses by armed factions.