Arabic to English Translation*
ِAside from the various violations and crimes committed on a wide and systematic scale against the region and its inhabitants due to racism and the spread of hate speech among the backers and militias of the “Syrian National Army,” there are countless cases of daily harassment and attacks against the indigenous Kurdish population deprived of any means of defense, and most of these cases and attacks do not come to light or get documented due to the media blackout imposed on the region and the fear of the victims and their relatives abroad from speaking out about the injustices they face to avoid further harm and punishment.
Here are some facts about the prevailing conditions:
= Death of a Kurdish citizen due to coercion:
On the afternoon of Sunday, 11, February 2024, upon his arrival at an olive field from his property near the village of “Kobagiyo”-Mobato/Ma’batli, accompanied by his brother and three brothers from his sister’s children, the Kurdish citizen “Jamal Mohammed Hamou – born in 1970” from the neighboring village of “Shieh/Jabalih” was surprised to find olive trees being cut. He approached two men from the backers of rural Hama present at the scene to inquire about the perpetrators, but they responded violently and summoned their relatives with shouting (about 15 people residing in the nearby Ovrozeh camp), and they attacked the five with sticks and stones, causing a broken foot to one of them and the rest to suffer bruises and pains in their bodies. After the attack, which lasted about twenty minutes, and the return of the victims to the village of “Kobagiyo,” “Jamal Hamou” suffered a stroke due to the coercion and pressure he experienced, leading to his immediate death. The ambulance operation did not help when he was taken to a hospital in Afrin, and his body was buried the next day in the village cemetery.
It is worth mentioning that the victims and the relatives of the deceased refrained from filing a complaint or lawsuit against the assailants with the occupation authorities or the militias of the “Northern Brigade” controlling the village and having a headquarters, fearing that matters would escalate and they would be exposed to worser crimes. Those authorities did not conduct any investigations into the circumstances of that incident.
= Stabbing of a Kurdish student with knives:
On 25, February 2024, at the high school in the town of Mobato/Ma’batli, during official hours, four students – whose names we couldn’t know – from the countryside of Aleppo and Hama, attacked their Kurdish classmate in the eleventh grade, the student “Shiyar Ibrahim Omar /17/ years old” from the village of “Qantarah” adjacent to it, with beatings and knives, one of which was a “sword,” with the aim of killing him. He was seriously injured and was rushed to intensive care at Amanos Hospital in Afrin, where his life was saved, and he remains bedridden. The group known for their bad behavior also attempted to attack a teacher who tried to intervene and another student who was a friend of “Shiyar.”
The militias of the “Civil Police in Ma’batli” arrested those assailants, in addition to four Kurdish students from the same class, one of them “Farhad Hanif Mohammed” from the village of “Qantarah” and three “Guevara Ibrahim Mohammed, Mohammed Ali Jamki son of Hussein, Mohammed Radwan Mustafa” from the adjacent village of “Araba/Arabo,” with the aim of distorting the investigation, tarnishing the case, and mitigating the crime for the perpetrators.
= Injury of a Kurdish citizen:
On the evening of 29, February 2024, as a result of the Turkish army’s shelling and the Syrian militias loyal to it on the village of “Soghanekeh” – Mount Lilon under the control of the Syrian army, the Kurdish girl “Amina Hikmet Mohammed /19/ years old” was injured inside her home with shrapnel in her abdomen. Two members of the Syrian army were also injured to varying degrees, in addition to material damage to homes.
= Arbitrary arrests:
Recently, a Turkish court in Istanbul sentenced the citizen “Sheikh Moussa Khalil Ismail /30/ years old” from the village of “Panerako” – Raju/Afrin to six years in prison on charges of belonging to the former autonomous-administration forces before the occupation of Afrin, who was arrested on October 2, 2023, from his residence with his parents and family in Istanbul, where his family has been residing since 2013.
Arrests by the occupation authorities:
– On February 15, 2024, citizens “Ahmed Omar Suleiman /52/ years old and his son Mustafa /26/ years old” from the village of “Sheikhotko” – Mobato/Ma’batli, were arrested from their home in the old town of Afrin by the “Military Police” militias. Approximately 2.5 kg of gold jewelry were confiscated from their shop (Suleiman Jewelry) on fabricated charges. They were released after two weeks of arbitrary detention.
– On February 15, 2024, citizens “Zahida Hamza Amin /70/ years old, Mahmoud Aloush /85/ years old, Hassan Sabri /60/ years old, Sheikh Mohammed Sheikhoo /75/ years old, Suleiman Khlo /70/ years old, Azat Khlo /65/ years old, Ahmed Khlo /80/ years old, Mohammed Oso /70/ years old, Ahmed Mohammed Oso /36/ years old” from the village of “Aghjaleh” were detained by the Turkish intelligence and the “Military Police in Jenderes” militias on charges of association with the former autonomous-administration. Eight of them were released after imposing a fine of a thousand US dollars on each, except for “Ahmed Mohammed Oso,” who remained arbitrarily detained. Most of them had been previously arrested.
– In mid-February 2024, citizen “Adila Abdo Hammada /65/ years old, widow of the late “Rashid Haider” from the town of “Badino,” was arrested by the Turkish intelligence and the “Military Police in Raju” militias on charges of association with the former autonomous-administration. She was released after a day upon paying a fine of $400, after previously being detained for a day and fined $500 for the same charges, despite her extreme poverty and reliance on aid.
– On February 19, 2024, citizen “Idris Mohammed Bakr /47/ years old” from the village of “Kulia Thtani” and “Rafat Mohammed Ali Rashid /50/ years old” from the village of “Kulia Foqani” were detained by the Turkish intelligence and the “Military Police in Raju” militias on charges of association with the former autonomous-administration.
– On February 25, 2024, citizen “Abdul Rahman Kaarik /50/ years old” from the village of “Bililko” residing in the town of Raju was arrested by the Turkish intelligence and the “Military Police” militias during his visit to the police station to see his son “Hameed /25/ years old,” who was arrested on February 21, 2024, on charges of association with the former autonomous-administration. Both are still arbitrarily detained, and “Ilham Abdul Rahman Suleiman,” Abdul Rahman’s wife, was previously arrested for two months between March and May 2022 and was released after being fined.
= Olive tree cutting:
On February 5, 2024, militias of the “Eastern Army” cut down eight olive trees from a field owned by “Ismael Misto” from the town of “Kafr Safreh” – Jenderes for logging and trade.
= Chaos and outlaw:
On February 25, 2024, due to a dispute over seizing land near the village of “Mohammadiya” – Jenderes belonging to displaced indigenous residents, a fight broke out and gunfire exchanged between two groups of settlers residing in the “Mohammadiya Camp,” affiliated with the militias of the “Army of Victory” and “Nur al-Din al-Zenki,” resulting in casualties on both sides.
Amid the lack of security, absence of law, and impunity, violations and various crimes continue and escalate in Afrin, occupied by Turkey, with no accountability.
02.03.2024
Media Office-Afrin
Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekiti)
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Images:
– Deceased “Jamal Mohammed Hamou.”
– Injured student “Shiyar Ibrahim Omar.”
– Bombing of the village of “Soghanekeh” – Mount Lilon, on the evening of February 29, 2024.
– Cutting of olive trees belonging to “Ismael Misto” – the town of Kafr Safreh.
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* Under the supervision of the European Organization of the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekîtî).
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