Much has changed in the Syrian border town of Tal Abyad. Hamad’s hometown has been fought over by the Syrian opposition, Islamic State, US-backed Kurdish forces and, now, Turkey and its Syrian rebel proxy fighters. “I decided to return since my house wasn’t destroyed and there’s still furniture left that wasn’t stolen,” the 35-year-old said. “There are many obstacles to return for Syrians, and the ethnic angle here makes it even more difficult to verify whether these numbers are accurate,” she said. But based on previous repatriation efforts to places like Jarablus I just don’t believe we could be safe there.

Source: The Guardian December 18, 2019 04:52 UTC