Their homes once stood in a swarm of rubble and piles of ruin.
When displaced residents return to their hometown of Tal Rifaat in northern Syria, which is a crucial staging area for the conflict between Syrian Kurdish fighters and Turkish armed groups, they are faced with this situation.
Tal Rifaat grew out of the repeated cycles of fighting and displacement that have taken place since anti-government protests have erupted in Syria since 2011.
The town’s majority of its population was displaced when Syrian Kurdish forces took control in 2016. In other places, like the town of Afrin, Kurdish residents were displaced after Turkish-backed forces took control, and many fled to Tal Rifaat.
The situation turned around again in December of last year when opposition fighters launched an opposition fighters’ lightning offensive that resulted in President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster. Turkish-backed forces seized Tal Rifaat from the SDF, which is led by Kurdish-led opposition.
Signs of hurried departures are visible everywhere — abandoned belongings, scattered debris, and makeshift barricades hastily dismantled.
Source: Aljazeera
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