Kidnapping, killing, displacement: Erdogan’s militias violate lives of Afrin residents

The Turkish occupation and its militias in Syria have continued their crimes against the people of Afrin by brutally killing, kidnapping and torturing any civilians, including women and the elderly, in addition to imposing royalties and ransoms on civilians.

A report issued by the Violations Documentation Center in Northern Syria for August revealed increased rates of violence, crime and fighting between factions and more explosions within areas controlled by Turkish forces.

Since the beginning of August, 23 civilians, including women, have been arrested in Afrin, according to the report.

The report indicated that three persons were killed in Afrin. Abdullah Muhammad Ali, 58, was arrested after his house was raided in the village of Maarska, while Ali Muhammad, 14, from the village of Qarat Tibbah, was arrested, and Shiro Ali, 20, from Kafr Jannah, was kidnapped from his home in the Ashrafieh neighborhood of Afrin.

The region has witnessed daily systematic looting operations, the seizure of people's homes and properties, and other activities, in addition to daily arbitrary arrests, kidnapping of people as hostages in exchange for ransom, and harassment of the population.

Militants from the Hamaza Brigade stormed homes in the Jenderes district and arrested three persons, including 55-year-old Ibrahim Othman and his 25-year-old son, Siwar Othman, as gunmen the Levant Front stormed houses in the village of Maerska and kidnapped Abdullah Muhammad Ali, 43.

Also, gunmen from the Levant Front militia arrested Muhammad Hasaku Hasko, 40, from his workshop in Afrin, and he was taken to an unknown location. The so-called Military Police also arrested Riad Hassan Hamo from his home located in the center of Rajo district and took him to an unknown destination.

Erdogan's militias kidnapped a resident of Gorkan Tahtani at a military police checkpoint, along with his van, while on his way to the city of Azaz. He had previously been kidnapped by the National Army and was tortured in the Ra'i prison before he was released after paying a ransom.

The pro-Turkish militants also launched a campaign of arrests and raids and stormed a number of houses in Afrin, during which they arrested Asaad Khalil Murad, Nuri Mustafa Bakr, Sheikho Khalil Hassan, Fayek Sabri Musa, Abdo Khalil Abbas, and Muhammad Bashir.

Also, members of a military police force stormed the village of Tarmishia, in the Shia district of Afrin, and kidnapped three people: Khalil Manan Sido, 45, Kamiran Khalil Sido, 22, and Farid Khalil Seedo, 40. They were also taken to an unknown location.

The policies of the Turkish forces and factions in Afrin have led to environmental and humanitarian disasters amid the neglect of the international community, which deafened its ears and turned a blind eye to the harassment of citizens and usurpation of their rights and freedoms. This prompted human rights organizations to renew their continuous demands to put an end to the Turkish incursion into Syrian lands and to stop Ankara’s violations against the Syrians.

Seven human rights organizations in Syria issued a joint statement that monitored the victims of the attacks of the Turkish occupation forces and the victims of multiple violations in Syria. The statement explained, “We remain the organizations defending human rights in Syria. In the context of our work to monitor, follow up, document and publish all violations committed on Syrian territory from the aggressor Turkish forces and the militants cooperating with them in the northern regions of Syria in Idlib and its countryside, in the countryside of Aleppo, and Afrin, as well as the spread of terrorist operations in Deir Ezzor, Hama, Homs, and Daraa by armed ISIS elements and previously from elements belonging to several terrorist factions spread in various regions, in addition to the violations committed by several governmental and non-governmental parties.”

The Syrian human rights organizations added, “In addition to the victims of mine explosions planted in various regions, terrorist bombings, assassinations, indiscriminate shelling against defenseless civilians and enforced disappearances, which led to an increase in the cases of destruction and sabotage of infrastructure, service and health facilities, water and electricity stations, and health centers, in addition to burning and sabotaging lands, homes, and shops. These attacks have led to many casualties.

The Turkish occupation and the Syrian armed factions supported by it continue to commit more violations and do not care about calls to stop the daily raids, arrests and kidnappings, preventing their families from knowing the location or reasons for their detention, refusing to bring them to trial and preventing them from appointing a lawyer.

“In the month of July, the Afrin region witnessed the arrests of 45 people, and we were able to document their names, while the actual number is more, especially since there are names that their families have reserved to mention, in addition to cases of detention that we were not able to access, and the killing of civilians under torture was followed up and documented. More than 14 detainees were subjected to torture, and two deaths under torture were recorded, including two cases of killing the elderly,” the statement added.