Arabic to English Translation*
Most of the Kurds remaining in Afrin are barely managing their daily lives, relying on remittances from abroad and what remains of olive production. The extortion imposed by “Mohammad al-Jassim/Abu Amsha,” the leader of the “Sultan Suleiman Shah Division – Amshat,” has become a heavy burden on them. This is in addition to the accompanying humiliations, a sense of injustice and betrayal, and deep-seated hatred toward them. To pay the latest imposed extortion of $100 per family, they had to sell women’s earrings and rings or olive oil from household reserves!
Below are some details about the current situation:
= Abu Amsha’s Extortion:
– Last evening, one of Abu Amsha’s brothers informed the local leaders of the town of Shiyeh/Sheikh Al-Hadid and its surrounding villages during a private meeting about a new extortion fee of $40 per olive tree (whether fruit-bearing or not) for the next season, on properties belonging to absent Kurds. Half of this amount must be paid now, and the other half at harvest time, or the agent will be expelled from the olive grove, and the property will be seized, according to the threats.
– Recently, Abu Amsha imposed new extortion fees ($100 per family, $200 per business, and $300-500 per artesian well) on residents of the towns and villages under his control. On August 18, 2024, the faction’s security forces insulted, beat, and tortured several residents of the village of “Qarmitlaq” in Shiyeh/Sheikh Al-Hadid for being late in paying. Among them were “Bakr Rashid/Deilkeh family /68/ years old, Nouri Rashid /40/ years old, Omar Bilal Rashid /65/ years old, and Bakr Keileh /57/ years old,” even though some of them were unaware of the requirement. They were forced to pay immediately. The total extortion from the remaining 140 Kurdish families in Qarmitlaq reached around $15,000.
– On August 18, 2024, “Aref Muhammad Ali,” a member of the “local council of Maabatli” loyal to Turkey and a member of the “Kurdish National Council in Syria,” informed residents via a voice message on WhatsApp that every Kurdish family in Maabatli town was required to pay $100 within two hours. The Amshat faction collected $55,000 from the approximately 550 remaining Kurdish families, exempting only the local council members and the mayor.
– Using the same method, the Amshat faction extorted $6,000 from the remaining /60/ Kurdish families in “Qantara” village – Mobato/Maabatli.
– $17,000 from /170/ families in “Kakhireh” village – Mobato/Maabatli.
– And $35,000 from /350/ families in “Hiseh/Mirkan” village – Mobato/Maabatli.
They continue to impose fees on shops, businesses, agricultural facilities, artesian wells, and people returning to the region.
= Arbitrary Arrests:
– On August 5, 2024, at the main security checkpoint at the “Qatma” junction in Shara/Sharran, composed of Turkish intelligence and the “military police” militia, the citizen “Reibar Fawzi Ahmad /46/ years old” and his wife and two daughters, from “Hiseh/Murkan” village in Mobato/Maabatli, were arrested while returning from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Five days later, the wife and children were released, but “Reibar” remains under arbitrary detention.
– On August 7, 2024, the “military police” militia arrested “Mahmoud Muhammad Qartal /32/ years old,” from “Khalilka” village – Bulbul, after he returned from Aleppo, accusing him of ties to the previous autonomous administration. He was taken to the Mrateh central prison in Afrin.
– Ten days ago, the “military police” arrested “Muhammad Darwish al-Madhi/Abu Rafi /58/ years old,” an Arab resident of Tel Selur- Jenderes, on charges of collaborating with the previous autonomous administration.
= Daesh Cell:
According to a local source, on the morning of August 17, 2024, a patrol from the “military police” raided a house in the village of “Kafr Shileh,” west of Afrin, that had been seized and formerly belonged to the father of “Mohammad Suleiman/Abu Murad.” They arrested three armed men, while two others escaped. The detainees were from the countryside of Deir ez-Zor and were suspected militants. The “police” investigated the village’s checkpoint elements belonging to the “Hamza Brigade – led by Saif Abu Bakr” militias. Several media outlets confirmed that this group was a Daesh cell led by “Hani Yaqub al-Azzawi/Abu Yaqub,” accused of assassinating activist “Muhammad Abd al-Latif/Abu Ghanoum” and his pregnant wife in the city of al-Bab. Police found pistols with silencers and drugs in their possession.
= Chaos and Lawlessness:
– On the evening of Sunday, August 18, 2024, in the Ashrafieh neighborhood of Afrin, a minor disagreement escalated into violence when a settler from the town of Hayyan in northern Aleppo killed a young man named “Muhammad al-Marji,” a settler originally from Ghouta – Dmascux countryside. This sparked clashes between settlers from Hayyan and those from Ghouta, causing injuries, burning and raiding homes, blocking roads, terrorizing civilians, and damaging buildings and cars. Tensions remained high the following day.
– On August 21, 2024, a motorcycle bomb exploded in front of a vegetable shop in the Ashrafieh neighborhood of Afrin, injuring one person and causing material damage.
= Other Violations:
– A militia led by two individuals, “Hussam and Abu Radwan,” recently split from the “Sultan Murad Division” and joined the “Malik Shah Division.” They control the village of “Ain al-Hajar al-Gharbi” – Mobato/Maabatli, and use a family-owned olive mill belonging to Alo family as their military headquarters. They impose extortion fees of $75 per hectare of agricultural land and take 20% of the olive harvest from absentee owners’ properties.
– In the town of “Basouta” and the villages of “Korzeileh” and “Andariyeh” – Sheirawa, the joint forces militias “Sultan Suleiman Shah Division – Amshat” and “Hamza Division” are conducting a new inventory of agricultural properties belonging to absent owners. Their aim is to cancel the powers of attorney, strip the agents and relatives of their rights, and seize the properties, offering them for rent or leasing the harvest to others.
The silence regarding the violations and crimes committed by “Abu Amsha” and other leaders of the “Syrian National Army” militias is a betrayal of human and national values, as well as all divine laws and local and international regulations.
24.08.2024
Media Office-Afrin
Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekiti)
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Images:
– “Mohammad al-Jassim,” “Saif Abu Bakr,” and “Hasan Hamada Defense Minister of the Syrian Interim Government.”
– “Hani Yaqub al-Azzawi/Abu Yaqub.”
– Clashes between settlers from Hayyan town and others from Ghouta in the Ashrafieh neighborhood of Afrin, August 18, 2024.
– Motorcycle bombing in the Ashrafieh neighborhood of Afrin, August 21, 2024.
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* Under the supervision of the European Organization of the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekîtî).
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