The return of displaced Syrian Kurds to their northeastern hometown of Ras Al-Ain was suspended on Monday after a first group of returnees was attacked, a local security official said.

Axar.az reports, citing Arab News, that hundreds of people had gone back to the town on Monday, months after a January agreement with the Syrian government on merging Kurdish forces and civil institutions into the state that included provisions for the return of displaced Kurds.

Jawan Isso, from a committee representing displaced people from Ras Al-Ain, said that a “first batch” of around 2,500 people were headed home but were later attacked by “armed groups.”

Mahmud Khalil Ali, deputy head of security forces in Syria’s Hasakah province, said several of those involved in the attacks were arrested, but return trips were “temporarily suspended as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of residents.”

“These trips will resume as soon as the situation stabilizes and full protection is provided for the returnees.”