Arabic to English Translation*
Turkey continues its plan to restructure and reorganize the militias of the so-called “Syrian National Army” directly and through its proxies, including the “Syrian National Coalition, the Interim Government, the Ministry of Defense, and the most loyal militias,” even using force when necessary. This restructuring aims to ensure the militias’ obedience to Turkey’s decisions and to strengthen the influence of Turkmen armed groups. In Afrin, militias such as the “Joint Forces/Sultan Suleiman Shah Division (Al-Amshat), Al-Hamzat Division, and Sultan Murad Brigade” have become the most prevalent and powerful.
The following are facts about the current situation:
= Martyrdom of a displaced person from Afrin:
As a result of shelling by Turkish occupation forces and their Syrian militias on villages in the western countryside of Afrin under the control of the Syrian Army, as well as villages and towns in the Shahba area and the city of Tel Rifaat in northern Aleppo countryside, there were material damages and casualties, including fatalities and injuries. Among the victims was “Khalid Muhammad Muhammad, a Kurdish citizen born in 2002″ from the displaced of the village of “Beleh/Bilan” – Bulbul/Afrin, who was killed during the shelling of the village of “Biruniyeh” in northern Aleppo countryside on Saturday, September 7, 2024.
= Al-Amshat in “Kakhreh”:
On Sunday, September 15, 2024, the militias of “Sultan Suleiman Shah Division – Al-Amshat” violently attacked a women’s protest in the center of “Kakhreh” village, Mobato/Maabatli. The protest was organized against the arrest of two citizens and the imposition of levies on olive trees. About twenty villagers, including children, suffered bruises and various injuries. Images circulated of three injured women, who suffered wounds and fractures: (Zamzam Suleiman/Almameh /60/ years old, Jihan Aiso Muhammad Aiso /40/ years old, and Najah Muhammad Alloush /35/ years old). Roads were blocked, the internet was cut off, and the wounded were prevented from leaving for medical treatment. There was a heavy presence of “Al-Amshat” and the “Military Police” elements. The following day, “Muhammad al-Jassem,” the leader of the division, accompanied by his partner “Saif Abu Bakr,” leader of the “Hamza Division,” visited the village in an attempt to cover up the incident. However, the women refused to accept their visit. “Al-Amshat,” in collaboration with the “Military Police,” attempted to distort the incident, framing it as a quarrel between two families and calling for reconciliation. They also claimed that some individuals had been handed over to the police for investigation.
Despite the severity of the incident, the widespread condemnation, and extensive media coverage on social media, the following morning, the village’s Mukhtar, who collaborates with “Al-Amshat,” informed the villagers on their behalf to visit the headquarters and sign documents regarding the imposed levy. Most of those managing the properties of absent villagers individually signed pre-printed forms, which included a count of the olive trees they managed and a statement declaring that the trees belonged to individuals affiliated with the Democratic Union Party (PYD). They were required to pay $8 USD per tree, regardless of the tree’s size, age, or productivity, as rent to “Al-Amshat,” under pressure and threats. “Al-Amshat” continues to force the remaining villagers to sign, in addition to imposing an in-kind levy on the entire harvest of the village’s season later.
It was also reported that “Al-Amshat” notified the residents of Mobato/Maabatli and its affiliated villages (Qantareh, Husseh, Shitka, Rajo, Choumazno, Ali Jaro, Maarskeh, and Barka) that a levy of $8 USD would be imposed on each tree owned by absent villagers, regardless of the tree’s size, age, or productivity, in addition to the in-kind levy.
= Turkification of the Area:
Turkey has never concealed its ambitions and Ottoman aspirations in northern Syria, as outlined in the Misak-ı Millî (National Pact). Since 2016, it has pursued a policy of Turkification in the areas it occupies, particularly in Afrin. Turkey imposes its currency, flag, symbols, language, and culture, alters landmarks and names, and loots and distorts its historical sites, while waging a war on the region’s culture, identity, and the Kurdish language of its inhabitants.
The Turkish occupation authorities have constructed the new wholesale market (Souq al-Hal) in Afrin, which was inaugurated by Mustafa Masatli, the Governor of Hatay, Turkey, on July 6, 2023. According to the local council, the market “was built on an area of 50,000 square meters and includes 144 commercial shops, each 72 square meters in size, five workshops of 150 square meters each with a height of 10 meters, and 25 service shops. It also features an administrative section, a mosque, public restrooms, a police section, an unloading yard, modern scales, a truck parking area, and 220 dedicated parking spaces.” The manifestations of Turkification are evident:
– A review of the market’s layout and aerial images after its completion: reveals that Souq al-Hal was built in a Turkish architectural style, shaped like a rectangle resembling the Turkish flag, dominated by the red color, with a crescent and star.
– The signage at the main entrance is in both Turkish and Arabic.
– The Turkish lira is the currency in circulation in the market.
= Royalties Imposed by “Al-Hamzat”:
– Recently, the “Hamzat Division” militia seized /200/ olive trees near the village of “Barbaneh” in Raju, belonging to the elderly widow “Foteh Aisheh, wife of the late Hanan Murad” from the neighboring village of “Quibeh.” The seizure was justified on the grounds that she owns numerous properties and has children living abroad, despite the presence of her son” Zakaria” and his family in the village. No consideration was given to the maintenance and expenses of the field over the past two years.
– Additionally, the militia claimed two other olive fields in the same area (each with around 70 trees) belonging to two other elderly widows: “the widow of the late Zumurrud Rashid Muslim, who has two unmarried daughters without a provider, and the widow of the late Muhammad Muslim, whose son Milad resides in Afrin.” The fields were placed under the category of “agency” properties, which means that half of the production (a 50% levy) is taken, disregarding the maintenance and expenses incurred over the past two years.
= Arbitrary Arrests:
On September 3, 2024, Turkish occupation forces arbitrarily arrested “Mustafa Taher Abdo, /45/ years old and his daughter Nourjan” from the village of “Deir Ballut” in Jenderes, along with three other villagers, on charges of having ties to the previous Autonomous Administration. They remain under arbitrary detention.
= Militia Infighting:
After Turkey presented the “Northern Falcons Brigade” militia, led by “Hassan Khairiyeh,” with two options—either disband, surrender its weapons and headquarters to the “Military Police” and “Border Guard” militias or join the more loyal “Joint Forces” militias (Sultan Suleiman Shah Division – Al-Amshat and Hamzat Division)—the “Minister of Defense” of the Syrian Interim Government issued a decree to dissolve the brigade and appoint his deputy to oversee its units. On Sunday, September 15, 2024, the “Northern Falcons Brigade” mobilized and announced its refusal to comply with the order, opting instead to join the “Levant Front” militias, which welcomed it. This escalated tensions between the “Northern Falcons and Levant Front” on one side, and the “Joint Forces and Sultan Murad Division,” supported by the Turkish military and intelligence, on the other. The “Northern Falcons Brigade” forced civilians in the villages under its control (such as Gamaruk, Arab Sheikho, Beileh, Ahmed Misto, Qazlbash, Sarinjakeh, Duraqliyo, the three Shekhurzeh villages, Abudan, Zarieh, and Kurdo) to participate in gatherings supporting the brigade and opposing its dissolution. The brigade placed its forces on high alert, while the opposing side amassed troops to besiege these villages, restricting movement in and out. Clashes erupted between the two sides around the villages of Shekhurzeh and Sarinjik, resulting in injuries on both sides. Additional skirmishes occurred between the “Levant Front” and the “Sultan Murad Division” near the village of “Qatma,” Sharra, which ceased after the intervention of Turkish forces, who established control points at the three main Afrin crossings (Ghazawiya and Deir Ballut with Idlib, and Qatma-Kafr Jannah with Azaz).
Meanwhile, some key figures of the “Northern Falcons Brigade” (security, economic officials) fled with their families from these villages to unknown destinations. The roads to these villages remain blocked, and entry or exit is permitted only for essential or special circumstances. Yesterday, Friday, the main Azaz-Afrin Road was also cut off.
= Uprooting and Transporting Olive Trees:
We received a video showing the transport of six ancient olive trees using three trucks within the city of Afrin on Wednesday, September 18, 2024. The trucks were moving from the southwestern entrance of Afrin—Jenderes Road—towards Aleppo Road in the eastern part of the city. The trees were completely uprooted, including their roots, for replanting elsewhere. However, we were unable to determine the trees’ original source, the village they belonged to, their owners, or their final destination.
= Chaos and Lawlessness:
– Over the past two days, protests erupted in Afrin opposing Turkey’s decision to dissolve certain militias, normalize relations with the Syrian regime, and open border crossings to regime-controlled areas. The protests were met with suppression by the “Military Police” militia, which used force, beatings, tear gas, live fire into the air, and arrested dozens of protesters, all under the supervision of Turkish intelligence.
Erdogan’s Syrian militias continue their reign of terror, looting, and brutality against the Kurds, confiscating their livelihoods and fabricating charges against them, as long as they are protected by Ankara and its intelligence and encouraged in their actions. The Syrian–Muslim Brotherhood Coalition continues to endorse these militias.
21.09.2024
Media Office-Afrin
Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekiti)
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Images:
– The martyr “Khaled Mohammed Mohammed.”
– Three injured women from “Kakhreh” (Zamzam Suleiman/Almameh, Jihan Aiso Mohammed Aiso, Najah Mohammed Alloush), showing wounds and fractures.
– The inauguration of the new wholesale market in Afrin by Mustafa Masatli, the Governor of Hatay, Turkey, on July 6, 2023.
– The new wholesale market in Afrin, shaped like the Turkish flag, featuring a red rectangle with a crescent and star.
– Uprooting and transporting ancient olive trees in Afrin.
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* Under the supervision of the European Organization of the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekîtî).
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