ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Around 6,500 displaced people are set to return to their villages in Sari Kani (Ras al-Ain) next week after seven years away from home, the town’s IDP committee said on Friday, weeks after the initial convoy of returnees was attacked by armed men upon arrival in the city.

“Next week 6,500 displaced people from the villages of Sari Kani will return to their homes, properties, and areas,” Mahmoud Jamil, spokesperson for the Sari Kani Displaced Persons Committee, told The New Region.

He added that security forces will oversee and coordinate the return process, adding that the villages are “now calm, with the groundwork prepared for their return,” following an initial return effort that was marred by violence.

On August 10, the first convoy of around 400 displaced families left Hasaka’s Washokani camp to return to their areas after seven years of displacement. The returnees were confronted by a group of armed men shortly after arriving, leaving several people injured and leading to the suspension of the return process.

The incident was followed by several gatherings in the city, with Kurds expressing frustration over the incident.

According to data from the Sari Kani Displaced Persons Committee, there are around 14,000 displaced families from Sari Kani, numbering over 40,000 individuals, most of whom reside in three camps.

A key point in the landmark January integration agreement between Rojava (northeast Syria) officials and Damascus was the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs), including Kurdish civilians who were displaced in Turkish military offensive across Afrin, Sari Kani, Gire Spi (Tal Abyad) between 2018 and 2019, that forcibly displaced tens of thousands.

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 places of origin.