In recent days, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have initiated the deportation of Arab tribesmen from areas under their control in Hassakeh governorate, northeastern Syria, if they lack an “expatriate card” and hail from regions controlled by the Syrian regime.
Local reports from Zaman al-Wasl indicate that over 70 individuals, including agricultural workers and those in various industries, have been deported from SDF-controlled areas in the countryside of Hassakeh governorate to Aleppo governorate, which is under Syrian regime control.
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Sources confirm that those deported belong to Arab tribes and lack the necessary expatriate documentation at border crossings. It’s emphasized that this directive will extend to Qamishli airport, where any individual arriving from regime-controlled areas without an expatriate card will be sent back on the same aircraft.
Meanwhile, the pro-regimAthr Press agency reports that the SDF has notified several families from the village of Um al-Farsan near Qamishli of their deportation to Aleppo countryside due to their lack of an expatriate card. The SDF allegedly mandates Arab tribe members it deems non-residents of Hassakeh to acquire this documentation.
According to the agency, these families belong to the Albu-Hamad tribe, informed of their deportation to Aleppo countryside. However, there’s uncertainty about whether they’ll be allowed to enter Syrian state-controlled areas or be retained within SDF-controlled territories in the eastern Aleppo countryside.
The agency highlights that the SDF’s deportation decision encompasses Arab tribes to whom the Syrian regime granted agricultural land in Hassakeh in the 1970s as compensation for flooded lands during the establishment of the Euphrates Dam, known today as al-Ghamr or al-Ghamrin clans. Since the SDF assumed control, these tribes have been treated as newcomers, aligned with the population census in SDF-controlled eastern governorates.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
