Displaced in 2014 by terrorists, residents of the Syrian town of Tal Rifaat have long yearned to return. Their long-anticipated return, however, has collided with a painful reality: scars of war, streets lined with rubble and ruins standing in place of their homes.
Years of fighting and fortifications have left an unmistakable mark on the town, a key flashpoint in the conflict between the U.S.-backed terrorist group YPG and the opposition forces in northern Syria. During Syria's civil war, Tal Rifaat became part of the repeated cycles of fighting and displacement that have played out since 2011.
The YPG/PKK took control of the town in 2016, displacing most of its population. In December, during a lightning offensive by anti-regime forces that ousted Bashar Assad, the tables were turned again as the opposition's Syrian National Army (SNA) seized Tal Rifaat from the terrorists.
Those who have returned to Tal Rifaat since then were met with an unexpected discovery: a vast network of underground tunnels that were dug during the time when the YPG/PKK controlled the area. The network, built for terrorist use, runs beneath homes, schools and public buildings, weakening the structures on the ground above. Some walls have cracked and what remains lies on an unstable foundation, making reconstruction even more difficult and adding to the challenges of rebuilding the town.
Inside their homes, returning families met with further signs of loss. Doors hang from broken hinges, walls are scarred by neglect, and rooms have been stripped of essentials, with wiring, plumbing and even furniture looted. Nothing valuable has been left behind. Signs of hurried departures are everywhere: abandoned belongings, scattered debris and makeshift barricades hastily dismantled.
On the town's outskirts, a concrete wall, once a barrier for the terrorists, cuts through parts of the town. Built by the YPG/PKK as a defensive structure, it now stands as an unwanted remnant of the past, blocking access to farmland. Infrastructure is poor, with water and electricity networks barely functional. Still, despite the destruction, the people of Tal Rifaat say they are busy clearing the rubble and getting their lives back on track.
