Syrian Kurds return home to celebrate Nowruz for the first time since exile

Syrian Kurds return home to celebrate Nowruz for the first time since exile

AL BASOUTA, Syria (AP) — Abdul Rahman Omar fled his village in the Afrin district in northern Syria eight years ago as a Turkish offensive against Kurdish fighters swept across the area. Now he is among hundreds of Kurds who have recently returned to Afrin. He joined neighbors in celebrating the spring festival of Nowruz for the first time since their return from exile, and for the first time after the government declared the celebration a natio…