ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish administration in northeast Syria (Rojava) on Thursday announced that nearly 200 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Hasaka province returned to their homes in the eastern province of Deir ez-Zor. The move comes amid growing efforts to facilitate the return of all displaced individuals to their hometowns.
“This is the eighth batch evacuated by the Areesha camp administration, comprising 46 families, totaling 193 individuals,” read a statement from the Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria (DAANES).
The DAANES said the move is part of a decision to facilitate the return of displaced persons “wishing to voluntarily return to their areas of origin.” The Kurdish administration carried out the evacuation in coordination with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the statement added.
The administration said it plans to continue facilitating more evacuations.
The Islamic State (ISIS) captured large swathes of Iraqi and Syrian territory in a brazen 2014 offensive. The group’s so-called “caliphate” was declared territorially defeated in 2019 but remains a security threat and continues to carry out hit-and-run attacks, abductions, and bombings. ISIS remains active in Deir ez-Zor.
Millions of people have been displaced in Syria due to the fight against ISIS and the country’s 14 years of bloody civil war, which ended in December when multiple rebel groups, led by the now-dissolved Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), ousted Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad.
In late April, the UNHCR reported that an estimated 214,000 IDPs live in informal sites across northeast Syria, including Areesha. The report noted that returnees have expressed concerns about unexploded mines in Deir ez-Zor, which has made many hesitant to go back.
Last week, the pro-DAANES North Press Agency reported that 52 families, totaling 274 people, had left the camp
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In March, the Hawar News Agency (ANHA), affiliated with the Kurdish authorities, reported that 80 families - a total of 470 individuals - left the camp. ANHA cited camp director Salwa Jajo as saying that Areesha holds around 2,700 families, mostly from Deir ez-Zor.
While it is unclear how many IDPs the camp holds presently, a 2017 UN report stated that between 11,000 and 13,000 IDPs from Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa had taken refuge in the camp.
A 2022 report by the REACH humanitarian organization detailed the living conditions and access to basic necessities at Areesha camp.
