ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Preparations are underway for the return of over 400 families to Sari Kani (Ras al-Ayn) from Hasaka’s Washokani camp after seven years of displacement, Syria’s state broadcaster said Monday.

On January 29, Damascus and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reached an agreement, to integrate the Kurdish-led forces into the Syrian security apparatus. A key point in the landmark agreement was the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs), including Kurdish civilians who were displaced in Turkish operations across Afrin and in Sari Kani and Gire Spi (Tal Abyad) between 2018 and 2019.

“Preparations for the launch of the first convoy of families from Ras al-Ayn [Sari Kani], comprising more than 400 families from the Washokani camp in Hasaka, heading towards the city of Ras al-Ain and its villages after seven years of displacement,” Syria’s state-run Al Ikhbariya said, citing its reporter.

“This comes as part of the efforts of the presidential delegation tasked with facilitating the process of returning the displaced to their areas,” it added.

In March, Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa agreed to form an official committee tasked with ensuring the return of IDPs from Afrin and Sari Kani to their cities of origin.

The first batch of 400 displaced families returned to Afrin in March, with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) describing the move as a “positive step,” noting however that it does not rule out the need for a broader solution to ensure the return of all original inhabitants under a legal framework.

The SDC stressed that resolving the Afrin issue requires ending all Turkish and Ankara-backed military presence and “removing all traces of the occupation.”