Arabic to English Translation*
Several Gulf media outlets, on September 20th, reported that the Saudi “King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center” signed, via video conference, an executive program with “one of the civil society organizations” to provide /300/ temporary housing units for those affected by the earthquake in the Baraka, Muslim, and Aya camps in the Jenderes area of Aleppo province, Syria. The project will benefit /300/ families, amounting to /1,330/ individuals.
In the summer of 2023, the Turkish AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Authority), funded by the center, implemented the “Khuzama Village” near the village of “Ghazawiya” in Sheirawa/Afrin, consisting of /1,500/ housing units/caravans with electrical installations, a drinking water network, a school, a mosque, a clinic, social facilities, roads, and street lighting.
Such projects align with Turkey’s plans to build settlement villages with the aim of altering the demographic structure of the region, under the guise of projects carrying humanitarian or religious labels, executed through hundreds of organizations and religious networks!
The following are facts about the current situation:
= The Killing of a Young Man from the Village of “Osteir”:
Amid the chaos of carrying, using, and trading weapons, on the evening of Tuesday, September 25, 2024, while he was in front of his uncle’s car dealership on Vilat Street in Afrin city, the young man “Mustafa Nouri Al-Nasser,” aged /24/, from the Arnah family/Al-Omairat tribe in the village of “Osteir,” northwest of the city, was shot by a person from the western countryside of Aleppo, who fired from in front of a nearby arms shop. Mustafa died instantly.
It is noteworthy that the family of the deceased “Mustafa” resides in Turkey, and he had been forcibly deported to Syria a few months ago.
= Arbitrary Arrests:
-On August 25, 2024, the “Military Police” militia arrested “Qahraman Mustafa Hassan,” /50/ years old, from the village of “Miskeh,” a week after his return from displacement in Aleppo. He had visited their office in Jenderes to regularize his status, but was arrested on charges of being linked to the previous Autonomous Administration. He was taken to the central “Maratah” prison in Afrin, and was released by the court on September 23, 2024, after being fined.
Earlier this month, Turkish intelligence and the “Military Police” arrested three individuals from the same village: “Mohammed Hanan Sido,” /37/ years old, “Hussein Ahmed Abdullah,” /37/ years old, and “Ali Mohammed Mankawi,” /36/ years old, from the Arab component, on similar charges of links to the previous Autonomous Administration. They remain in arbitrary detention, despite having been previously arrested multiple times.
-On September 23, 2024, the Raju Police militia arrested “Mohammed Haidar Ibrahim,” /70/ years old, from the town of “Badino,” accusing him of participating in night watch duty for two hours during the former Autonomous Administration, which ended six and a half years ago. He was released two days later after the court fined him $500, with an additional $300 to be paid in a later session.
= The Family of the Martyred Young Man “Ahmed Khaled Mamo”:
Months after the murder of the underage Kurdish youth “Ahmed Khaled Mamo/Midah family,” /16/ years old, on March 13, 2024, in the city of Jenderes, by the killer “Yamen Ahmed Ibrahim,” originally from the Sinjar area in Idlib and closely associated with the “Nour al-Din al-Zenki” militias, the family of the martyred young man was forced to flee and migrate to Europe due to threats and fears for their lives.
= Demolition of Two Houses in “Qeebar”:
In recent days, the “Al-Rahman legion” militias, led by “Abdul Nasser Shmeiry” from Eastern Ghouta in the Damascus countryside, demolished two homes in the village of “Qeebar,” located northeast of Afrin and predominantly inhabited by Yazidis. The debris is still being cleared, without any explanation provided or objections raised.
The two houses, seized since 2018, belonged to two Yazidi families. One was the family of the martyr “Omar Memo Shemo,” who was found shot and killed inside his home on May 10, 2018, at the age of /66/, during the militia’s invasion of the village. The other home belonged to “Sabri Hamo Nasser’s” family. Both families were forcibly displaced to Europe following the region’s occupation in 2018.
It Is worth noting that both the “Al-Mu’tasim Division” and “Al-Rahman legion” militias control the village, seizing approximately /110/ of the village’s /300/ homes, as well as olive groves, agricultural lands, a fuel station, an olive press, and more. This year, the “Al-Mu’tasim Division” announced the cancellation of all powers of attorney through which remaining villagers were managing the properties of their absent relatives, seizing those properties. They now lease agricultural land at $500 per hectare annually and sell the harvests of fruit-bearing fields through guarantees to whoever they choose, disregarding prior agricultural costs and services.
=“Sham Legion” Confiscates Property of the “Mamo” Family:
In our report No. (286) dated May 4, 2024, we detailed how the “Sham Legion,” an Ikhwani militia, and its leaders seized properties belonging to the “Mamo” family south of Jenderes. Despite all attempts by the family members to reclaim their property through Turkish occupation courts and intermediaries, they were unsuccessful. The leaders of the Legion have even expanded their projects, constructing a wall around approximately /3/ dunams of land directly east of the Jenderes archaeological hill. A local source suggests that the purpose of this is to conduct excavations to unearth and steal buried artifacts and treasures.
= Royalties by “Sultan Mohammad al Fateh”:
Ahead of the olive season, the “Sultan Mohammad al Fateh Division,” led by “Dogan Suleiman,” of Turkmen origin, informed the residents of the villages of “Habu, Sarya, Shaitana” – Mobato/Maabatli, through its representative “Abu Bilal,” that all powers of attorney by which villagers had been managing the properties of their absent relatives were canceled. The militia announced its seizure of those properties and that it would sell the harvest to whomever it wished, without considering the expenses and services rendered to the olive fields over the past two years.
They also set up tents, allegedly to guard the olive fields from theft, justifying the imposition of additional levies on the properties of the remaining villagers. In reality, the thieves are from within their ranks or their close associates among the settlers.
The residents of the villages of “Bireemjah, Haj Qasima, Musta ashura” – Mobato/Maabatli, and “Tirmuisha” – Shaykh al-Hadid/Shiyeh were also informed that a Royalty of $3 USD per olive tree, regardless of its size or whether it was bearing fruit, would be imposed on the properties of absent citizens for this year’s harvest.
= Expansion of the Settlement Village “Basmeh”:
On September 17, 2024, the “Al-Ayadi Al-Bayda Association” announced the continuation of building new housing units in the settlement village of “Basmeh,” located south of the village of “Shadireh” in Sheirawa.
The association had previously announced on September 9, 2023, that it had completed the construction of 30 residential units (360 apartments) since the start of the “Basmeh” village project. On March 10, 2024, it announced the inauguration of /80/ apartments as part of the same project, funded by the “Living with Dignity Association – Palestine 48,” which uses an account at the Israeli “Hapoalim Bank” for fundraising.
= Forest Fires:
On Thursday, September 26, 2024, a fire was ignited in a forested area near the village of “Kala/Kalny” in Shiyeh/Sheikh al-Hadid. The “Syrian Civil Defense” confirmed that its teams worked to isolate the fire due to the difficulty of reaching the location with firefighting equipment because of the rugged terrain. The affected area is estimated to be /5/ hectares. Photos published show large tree trunks that had been previously cut and dry remains.
= Religious Extremism:
There has been an ongoing extensive campaign since 2018 to spread extremist Islamic ideas and practices in the Afrin region, conducted according to well-planned strategies under the supervision, guidance, and support of institutions such as the Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs and the Turkish Religious Foundation, with joint funding from global Muslim Brotherhood organizations. In addition to increasing religious lesson quotas in schools and establishing specialized religious schools (Imam Khateeb, Al-Safa, Buds of Paradise, etc.), religious personnel (teachers, imams, preachers) are conducting numerous activities and courses in mosques, schools, kindergartens, and other venues. The construction of mosques continues in every village, population cluster, and neighborhood, including:
-On August 17, 2024, the opening of the “Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque” on the road to Jenderes, southwest of Afrin city.
-On August 30, 2024, the opening of the “Hajj Ahmad Abu Silo Mosque” in the village of “Baliya/Bali Kui” – Bulbul.
-On September 12, 2024, the “Al-Ayadi Al-Bayda Association” announced the commencement of construction for the “Al-Nour Mosque” in the village of “Al-Mazra’a” in the Afrin countryside as part of the “Noor Al-Huda Project for Mosque Construction.”
-On September 24, 2024, the opening of the “Hajjah Fatima Al-Adhami Mosque” in the village of “Ali Bageh/Ali Beik” – Bulbul.
This occurred in the presence of the Turkish coordinator Yusuf Kasir, referred to as “the general coordinator of the Olive Branch area,” the director of “Awqaf Afrin,” representatives from the “Syrian Islamic Council – Istanbul,” the Turkish army, the militias, and the “Temporary Syrian Government,” among others.
If Saudi Arabia is seeking solutions for the humanitarian conditions of internally displaced Syrians, it would be more appropriate for them to facilitate the return of those displaced individuals to their original areas and assist in rebuilding their local communities, rather than constructing settlements that serve Turkey’s hostile policies toward the Kurds and their regions, which pose a threat to Syria’s future, especially in the context of normalizing relations with Damascus.
28.09.2024
Media Office-Afrin
Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekiti)
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Images:
– Engineer Ahmad son of Ali Al-Beiz, Assistant Supervisor General of the “King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Works,” signing the executive program for a settlement village in Jenderes.
– The “Al-Khuzama” settlement village.
– The murdered young man- “Mustafa Nuri Al-Nasser.”
– Abd al-Nasser Shmeiry, leader of the “Faylaq al-Rahman” militias.
– Construction of a wall on property belonging to the “Mamo” family, east of the Jenderes archaeological hill, by the “Sham Legion” militias.
– “Dogan Suleiman,” leader of the “Sultan Mohammad Al-Fateh Division” militias.
– Expansion of the “Basmeh” settlement village.
– Fire in the “Kala/Kalni” forest – Shiyeh/Sheikh al-Hadid.
– Opening of the “Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque” on the road to Jenderes, southwest of Afrin city.
– Opening of the “Hajj Ahmad Abu Silo Mosque” in the village of “Baliya/Bali Kui” – Bulbul.
– Construction of the “Al-Nour Mosque” by the Al-Ayadi Al-Bayda Association in the village of “Al-Mazra’a” in the Afrin countryside.
– Opening of the “Hajjah Fatima Al-Adhami Mosque” in the village of “Ali Bageh/Ali Beik” – Bulbul.
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* Under the supervision of the European Organization of the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekîtî).
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