ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A senior official of the Kurdish-led Internal Security Forces (Asayish) in Rojava (northeast Syria) Mahmud Xalil held a high-level meeting with Syrian authorities in Afrin to discuss the return of Kurdish-majority city's displaced people on Sunday.

Xalil’s delegation arrived in Afrin to coordinate with relevant authorities in the city to “facilitate the return of displaced residents to their hometowns,” according to Hawar News Agency (ANHA).

The meeting was “positive,” informed sources told the Rojava-based Ronahi TV, noting that “the return will begin as soon as possible.”

The delegation was accompanied by the Syrian Commander of Internal Security in Hasaka Marwan al-Ali, as well as the Commander of Internal Security in Aleppo, Mohammed Abdul Ghani.

The visit came in implementation of the January 29 agreement between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian Arab Army, following weeks of brutal attacks launched by Damascus that led to the death of hundreds of residents and heavy material damage.

One of the key provisions of the agreement is the safe return of the displaced residents in Afrin and Sari Kani. SDF Chief Mazloum Abdi stated days prior that “Sari Kani and Afrin are Kurdish cities. Afrin is 90 percent Kurdish… The steps we have taken for Kurdish areas include Afrin.”

Afrin, a Kurdish-majority city in northern Syria, was taken over in 2018 by Turkey and its proxies, leading to the displacement of more than 137,000 native residents.

Following the 2018 offensive, residents fled to Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods. They were once again subject to attacks by factions affiliated with Damascus in early January, forcing them to relocate multiple times before reaching SDF-held areas, including Qamishli, Derik, Amuda, and the besieged city of Kobane.

Days prior, a joint statement by civil society groups concerned with the displaced residents from Afrin and surrounding Kurdish areas said a first batch of around 400-500 families is scheduled to return, according to ANHA.

“A specific day will be set during this week for the return of the displaced,” informed sources told the agency.