2.7.7. Conflict-induced displacement and return

IOM’s population movements assessments in Syria show that there was an increase in Hasaka’s overall IDP population between February 2025 (around 340 000 out of a total population of approximately 1.26 million, 27 %)870 and April 2026 (around 382 000 out of a total population of approximately 1.4 million, 27 %).871

By March 2026, IOM reported that displacement in Hasaka governorate had gradually decreased following its peak during the most recent conflict in north-eastern Syria. On 29 January, 146 511 persons displaced by the January conflict had been recorded in the governorate. Since then, return movements had been observed, with an estimated 47 % of those displaced having returned to areas where security conditions had relatively improved. As of 11 March 2026, the majority of those remaining in displacement in Hasaka governorate as a result of the 2026 conflict (total of 77 073) were residing in Qamishli (46 796) and Malikiya (13 310).872 In the Ras Al-Ain area, SOHR reported that some displaced persons, including fighters from factions that had previously controlled the area, refused to leave agricultural land and homes belonging to indigenous residents, including Kurds, Syriacs and Yazidis displaced since 2019, thereby obstructing their return under the 29 January agreement between the transitional government and the SDF.873

UNHCR further estimated that, as of end of May 2026, 13 093 individuals had returned to locations in Hasaka governorate from internal displacement since December 2024874 and that 15 410 had returned to the governorate from abroad within the same period.875