Arabic to English Translation*
Turkey initiated its aggression on Afrin in 2018 by reciting Surah Al-Fath (The Victory) in over 90,000 mosques, following directives from the Presidency of Religious Affairs, indicating that its war was waged against “infidels and atheists” These epithets were disseminated by Turkish intelligence among the Syrian armed militias involved in the aggression, justifying their plundering of the blood, dignity, and properties of the region’s inhabitants and its resources as spoils of war. Additionally, the chauvinistic view instilled by the Ba’ath Party for decades continues to fuel accusations towards the Kurds by the armed groups and their supporters. Attacks, violations, and crimes against them persist, while the Syrian Brotherhood Coalition falsely claims through its media and officials to provide “peace and coexistence” in the region, as recently promoted in a sports marathon, contrary to numerous reports by local and international organizations, as well as the 2023 US State Department Human Rights Report on the dire conditions prevailing in Afrin.
Below are some facts about the prevailing conditions:
= Death of a Kurdish civilian in Al-Ra’i prison:
A week ago, Turkish occupation authorities informed relatives from the mother’s side in the village of “Gazeh”- Afrin the death of the Kurdish citizen “Jangeen Osman Nasan /36/ years old”, from the village of “Ruita”- Mobato/Ma’batli, to receive his body from a hospital in Al-Ra’I town – Bab, but no one dared to announce his relativity and be prepared to receive his body. His family had been residing in Afrin for decades, with no relatives left in their original village and all it members (the two parents Osman Majeed Nasan /65/ years old and his wife Zainab Abdo /60/ years old, the children: Jangeen and his wife Zaleekha, Shiyar /30/ years old- his wife was absent, Mohammed /28/ years old and his wife Jeelan Sameer Jamal/hamalo /26/ years old- with two kids) were arrested on fabricated charges on June 7, 2020, from their home in Al-Ashrafiyah neighborhood, and have been forcibly disappeared up till now. Meanwhile, the Sham Front militias seized their homes and stole all their contents, including furniture, tools and equipment.
In July 2021, Zainab Abdo, the elderly wife of Jangeen, was released from the women section of Maratah prison in Afrin due to a serious illness that afflicted her. She became homeless and met a painful fate, as she died by on December 23, 2021, in an old house in “Ruita” village, where she was alone.
“Zaleekha Walid Omar, /30/ years old”, Jangeen’s wife, suffered from epilepsy before her arrest, and her health deteriorated in prison due to torture and harsh conditions. She was released in mid-August 2021 after losing her sanity, and she has been homeless, without a home or a breadwinner, and in a miserable condition.
The fate of the rest of the family members (Osman, Shiyar, Mohammed, Jeelan, the two children) remains unknown. Jangeen did not suffer from any illness before his arrest; he died as a result of torture and harsh conditions in the infamous Al-Ra’i prison, managed by Turkish intelligence and the “Sultan Murad Division” militias. He was buried on April 23, 2024, in Al-Ra’i town by security forces.
= Assault on a Kurdish civilian:
On April 24, 2024, a brutal assault occurred on the Kurdish civilian “Ahmed Rashid Bakr /49/ years old,” from the village of Atmono, residing in Rajo town and working in oil trade. The assault, carried out by dozens of assailants (both militants and civilians) from Adra city- in Damascus countryside and affiliated with the “Army of Islam” militias, began with ramming his pickup truck from behind with a speeding motorcycle while he was driving on a street in Rajo. Then, he was attacked and beaten by a crowd who arrived at the scene following a WhatsApp invitation. “Bakr” was forced to flee in his car towards a nearby security headquarters of the “Ahrar Al-Sharqiyeh” militias to seek refuge. While they were in front of the headquarters until late evening, they were hurling insults and threats, such as “Kurds are pigs, infidels, Afrin is ours instead of Ghouta,” until they dispersed. Bakr was released without any of the attackers being arrested or any investigation conducted.
= “Fatima Al-Zahra” settlement village:
On April 25, 2024, the model settlement village “Fatima Al-Zahra” was inaugurated by the Mufti of Jenderes and the head of the religious office of the “Sham Legion- the Brotherhood”, Sheikh “Hamoud Hamada Al-Sheikh, son of Hamadou/Abu Humam- born in Kafrnayeh 1970 – western Aleppo countryside,” in the presence of a representative of the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), which implemented the project funded by the Kuwaiti organizations “Brotherhood Solidarity Team and Humanitarian Association for Solidarity,” with the assistance of the Jenderes local council.
The village consists of six residential multi-story units, comprising /36/ apartments, along with a mosque, gardens, and infrastructure, built on agricultural land near the intersection of Khinzir (pig) Valley and the Jenderes-Hajilaro road, owned by “Mahmoud Abu Dan”.
“The Humanitarian Association for Solidarity” had previously built five mosques in Jenderes, according to the Mufti’s speech during the opening.
= Arbitrary Arrests:
Authorities of the occupation arrested:
– At the beginning of this April, citizen “Mohammed Hussein Hussein /35/ years old” from the village of “Amaro”, for several days, by Turkish intelligence and the militias of “Military Police in Raj”, on charges of association with the former autonomous-administration, after his arrival to the village coming from the destination of displacement – Aleppo, and released him after imposing a financial fine on him.
– On April 3, 2024, citizen “Hamo Salah Zeeno /24/ years old- known as Hajji” from the village of “Dargireh” – Mobato/Ma’batli, by the militias of “Military Police” in the center of Afrin, during his second visit to his father who has been detained since early December 2023, on charges of association with the former autonomous-administration, and he is still arbitrarily detained.
= Extortions by “Mohammed Al-Jassim Abu Amsha”:
During the past two months, “Mohammed Al-Jassim Abu Amsha“, the leader of the militias of “Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade”, increased the amount of extortion imposed on returning Kurdish citizens to their villages; for example, he imposed $3,000 on the forcibly displaced returnee from Turkey “Fakhri Ahmed Moscow” to the village of “Jaqala Fawqani” – Shiyeh/Sheikh al-Hadid in exchange for receiving his house and living in the village, and demands another large amount from the returnee “Mustafa Hussein” from Aleppo to the town of Shiyeh; as well as some village elders under its control imposed $6,000 on each returning family instead of $1,500 previously imposed before Eid al-Fitr.
= Theft of Water Equipment and Water Shortage in “Meydanky”:
Recently, armed thieves stole equipment from the drinking water station near the gas station of “Eisha” – the eastern entrance to the city of Afrin, including batteries, cables, and others, as well as the electric transformer for the water pump of the village of Terndeh – south of the city.
Other armed men cut the iron door of the injection room in the Meydanky dam and opened it, stealing copper cables, /800/ meters long, a submersible pump, batteries, and lighting equipment, causing the room to go out of service; without any investigation by the security authorities.
It is worth mentioning that despite the good rainfall in the past months, the Meydanky dam did not fill up as required, due to the detention of water in many dams built by Turkey on the tributaries feeding the Afrin River, which have large storage capacities, as well as the escape of some of the river’s water – the dam to flow to the Al-Rihaniyeh dam on the Turkish side – west of Afrin; where there is a Turkish coordinator who manages the Meydanky dam and has the authority to control its flow.
= Chaos and Lawlessness:
In the context of the state of insecurity and the spread of militias in inhabited areas, as well as the chaos of carrying weapons and using them by most of the newcomers to the region:
– On April 13, 2024, as a result of a brawl between two groups of newcomers, the first from the countryside of Deir El-Zor and the second from the western countryside of Aleppo, in the village of “Arabo/Arab Oshaghi”- Mobato/Ma’batli, which is controlled by the militias of the “Sultan Mohammed al-Fateh Brigade”, the minor “Mustafa Ali son of Mohammed /13/ years old” from the city of “Al-Bukamal” was shot in the head and died immediately, causing tension in the village and civilians staying in their homes for a whole day.
– On April 14, 2024, as a result of a quarrel and gunfire between two groups of newcomers in the city of Afrin, following a traffic accident, two people were injured to varying degrees.
– Two weeks ago, the body of a young man was found at the garbage dump in the “Teera” valley west of the town of Meydanky, where a statement attributed to the “Supreme Council of the Al-Laheeb Tribe” dated April 18, 2024, and published in local media channels, accuses the militias of the “Suqor Al-Shamal (Northern Hawks) Brigade” led by “Hassan Khayria” of killing the deceased “Yahya Naama Al-Hajji”, one of the sons of the immigrant tribe, and described it as a gang, without explaining the reasons for the killing; and according to a local source, the victim was a member within the ranks of the same ” Suqor Al-Shamal (Northern Hawks)” themselves.
– On April 24, 2024, a young man from the newcomers of the city of Al-Safira – eastern Aleppo countryside was shot in Afrin city, following a quarrel he had with one of his relatives over relief aid.
– On April 24, 2024, the armed checkpoint of the “Military Police in Afrin” at the junction of the village of “Kafrjanah”- Sharra/Sharan assaulted a passerby from the newcomers of the town of “Hayyan” – northern Aleppo countryside, and directly fired live bullets at two other young men from the same town, who did not stop at the checkpoint, and local media channels mentioned that one of them, named “Abdul Bast Hayyani”, died later that evening.
= The Road to Earning a Living:
After Turkey imposed its control over the Syrian militias affiliated with the so-called “Syrian National Army” since 2016, and taught them the way of earning a living inside and outside Syria, by using them in military operations against the Kurds, and in Libya and Azerbaijan, during the past months, it sent batches of its elements as mercenaries to Africa in exchange for salaries of two months, $1,000-2,000 to each member, and under the supervision of Turkish intelligence, the subscription was opened for a new batch since April 14, 2024, at a headquarters for the militias of the “Sultan Murad Brigade”- formerly “Customs” in Afrin city, in front of the armed men to send them to Niger.
= Other Violations:
– Recently, the individual “Omar Sabouh- Abu Ala” from the elements of the “Hamzat Brigade” ordered the village official called “Abu Al-Khair” and the natives of the village of “Maarat Harmah”- the town of Kafr Nabl/Maarat al-Numan, to impose a fee of one thousand Turkish liras on each Kurdish family (about /40/ families) in the village of “Atmono” – Rajo, excluding about /90/ families of newcomers, under the pretext of repairing the asphalt road between it and the town of Rajo; after they learned that the local council in cooperation with a donating organization would carry out road repair works, they seized this opportunity.
Turkey, as an occupying state with its intelligence and institutions managing the affairs of the Afrin region, and in partnership with the Syrian Coalition – the Brotherhood and its interim government, bears responsibility for the cases of attacks on Kurdish civilians on the basis of racial and religious extremism.
27.04.2024
Media Office-Afrin
Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekiti)
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Images:
– The deceased “Jangeen Osman Nasan” and his burial in Al-Ra’i village.
– The detainees “Osman Majeed Nasan, Shiyar Osman Nasan, Mohammed Osman Nasan, Jeelan Sameer Jamal/Hamalo and her two childs” forcibly disappeared since June 7, 2020.
– The assaulted “Ahmed Rashid Bakr”.
– The model settlement village “Fatima Al-Zahra”.
– The so-called “Omar Sabouh- Abu Ala” and “Abu Al-Khair” from the “Hamzat Brigade” militias.
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* Under the supervision of the European Organization of the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekîtî).
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