Syrian Kurds return to Afrin homes after 2018 displacement
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Dilshad Hamdo returned to his family home in Afrin, Syria, after fleeing the Turkish-led Operation Olive Branch in 2018. The transitional government facilitated the return of hundreds of Kurdish families from Hasakah to Afrin in April and May. Hamdo paid $300 to a displaced family from Homs to vacate the property.
Key Facts
- Dilshad Hamdo fled Afrin in early 2018 during Operation Olive Branch, a Turkish-led offensive against the YPG.
- The transitional government announced it would facilitate the safe return of those who fled Afrin in 2018 after Bashar al-Assad's regime collapsed in December 2024.
- Internal security forces assisted the return of hundreds of Syrian Kurdish families from Hasakah to Afrin in April and May.
- Hamdo paid $300 to a displaced family from Homs to leave his father's house and return to Homs.
Return to Afrin
Dilshad Hamdo entered his father's 30-year-old home in Afrin to find the stone walls intact but the rooms stripped bare. Hamdo fled Afrin as a young man in early 2018 during the Turkish-led Operation Olive Branch against the Kurdish-dominated YPG. Tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds were displaced, and vacant properties were occupied by other displaced Syrians, mostly Arabs from Homs and Damascus. The Hamdo family drifted eastward from Aleppo to Raqqa and finally to a camp for the displaced in Qamishli.
Property Negotiation
Hamdo's father travelled ahead and found a displaced family from Homs living in the house. The two families negotiated quietly, and the occupants asked for several months before leaving. After several months, Hamdo paid them $300 as travel money to return to Homs, and the family regained the house. Hamdo stated, "We do not see any distinction between the Arab and the Kurd, and all of us are one people."
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