Syrian Kurds' Ras al-Ain return suspended after attack

Authorities in northeastern Syria temporarily suspended the return of displaced Syrian Kurds to Ras al-Ain on Monday after members of a first returning group were attacked, a local security official said.

Hundreds of people had gone back to the town months after a January agreement with the Syrian government included provisions for displaced Kurds to return as part of a wider plan to merge Kurdish forces and civil institutions into the state.

Jawan Isso, from a committee representing displaced people from Ras al-Ain, told AFP that a first group of around 2,500 people had been heading home when armed groups attacked them. Mahmud Khalil Ali, deputy head of security forces in Syria's Hasakeh province, said several people involved in the attacks were arrested.

Khalil Ali said return trips were temporarily suspended as a precaution to protect residents and would resume once the situation stabilised and full protection was provided. Isso said a second group had been expected to head to the town in the coming days, and that around 100,000 people from the Ras al-Ain area had applied to return.

The attack sparked a demonstration in nearby Kurdish-majority Qamishli, where an AFP correspondent saw protesters try to break into the security forces' headquarters before Syrian officers pushed them back. In Kobane, Syrian state television said people attacked government offices and took down the Syrian flag in front of the local security forces headquarters. Quoting a security source, state television said authorities imposed a curfew on Kobane while looking for those responsible.

Ahmad al-Hilali, deputy governor of Hasakeh, condemned both the attacks on returnees and attacks on state institutions in other areas. He said a number of rioters had been arrested in several areas and vowed no leniency toward anyone threatening civil peace.

Mazloum Abdi, leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, condemned what he called an assault on displaced Kurdish families during their return. He urged people to show restraint and preserve civil and security institutions.

Tens of thousands of Kurds were displaced in 2019 when Turkey and allied Syrian fighters seized territory along the Turkish border, including Ras al-Ain, from Kurdish control during Syria's civil war. Human rights groups say residents' homes and belongings there were seized or looted after the offensive.

The United Nations says about 5.5 million people remain internally displaced in Syria after more than 13 years of war.