Arabic to English Translation*
The state of chaos continues in the region, particularly due to the violations committed by militias through their economic and security offices. There has been an increase in thefts targeting homes, shops, vehicles, and livestock, often accompanied by assaults on their owners. Additionally, looting of household contents and the removal of doors and windows by squatters before they return to their original areas have been reported. The security policy that the General Security Agency (affiliated with Damascus authorities) will adopt in the region and towards its inhabitants remains unclear, as it gradually takes control of the security file following the decision to disband the militias, including the Turkish-occupied military and civil police. Changing uniforms and vehicle insignia is insufficient; it is essential to expel all militia leaders and most members involved in corruption and violations, such as “Ahmad Jamal Kabso,” from Tell Rifaat in northern Aleppo, head of the main branch of the military police in Afrin, notorious for his corruption and influence.
Ending the Turkish occupation and militias in the region and working towards its recovery require the following primary measures at this stage:
– Withdrawal of Turkish Forces: Turkish forces should withdraw to their internationally recognized borders and all Turkish intelligence offices should be closed.
Lists of political detainees and wanted individuals should be annulled and should not be used as a basis for arrests Security checks at checkpoints should be terminated and the Turkish administration of institutions in all state and societal sectors should end.
– Demilitarization and Disbandment of Militias and military headquarters must be removed from residential areas. Militias should be genuinely disbanded, and all their offices, headquarters, and checkpoints should be closed. Militia leaders and most members involved in corruption and crimes must be expelled. Deploy units of the new Syrian army to protect the borders with Turkey.
– Afrin’s administrative affiliation with Hatay Province in Turkey should be severed, the region should officially and publicly be re-affiliated with Aleppo Governorate. The term “Olive Branch Region,” linked to a Turkish military operation against Syrian land and people, should no longer be used.
– The circulation of the Syrian pound should be allowed and encouraged, Syrian telecommunications networks should be restored, administrative and service institutions should be linked to Aleppo Governorate.
– All public and secret prisons must be cleared of political detainees and, hundreds of detainees and forcibly disappeared individuals from Afrin, held in prisons such as Hawar Kilis and Al-Rai in Azaz, Al-Bab, and Jarabulus (some missing for nearly seven years), must be released.
– The General Security Agency, with new personnel and leadership, should take control of security matters. Human rights, public freedoms, and justice should be upheld, arbitrary arrests and torture in prisons and security centers must stop, public and private properties should be protected, with rights restored to owners without extortion or imposed levies.
– Violations against the environment and vegetation cover, including deforestation and burning of forests and orchards, must end, the theft of historical artifacts and cultural heritage should be stopped.
– The Maydanki Dam must be protected, and water and irrigation projects should be managed to meet the region’s needs, the theft of water resources for the benefit of Turkey’s Reyhanli Dam must end.
– A safe environment should be ensured for the voluntary, free, and dignified return of all displaced people. new settlers should be encouraged to return to their original areas.
– All effects, causes, and consequences of demographic changes imposed by the Turkish occupation, particularly the alterations in the region’s demographic composition, must be addressed.
– Concrete barriers built inside Afrin city and its towns and villages, allegedly for protecting Turkish headquarters, should be removed, Turkish military control over villages evacuated since March 2018 must end, allowing the return of their inhabitants, These villages include: “Jilbreh, Qubleh, Deirmashmash, Zreekat, Basileh, Khaltah” (Rubarya/Leelon mountain) and “Chiyeh/Jabliya, Darwish” (Rajo).
– Humanitarian aid access should be secured, Municipalities should be empowered to perform their duties and infrastructure and public facilities need restoration, The education sector should be linked to state institutions, ensuring the teaching and promotion of Kurdish language and culture at all educational levels.
– National oppression against Kurds must end, all forms of Turkification or forced Arabization, as well as religious extremism and persecution, must cease, Discrimination against Kurdish Yazidis should be abolished and, religious freedoms for all citizens must be safeguarded.
The following are facts about the current situation:
= Assault on Two Elderly Kurds:
– Incident on the Night of February 13, 2025 two masked gunmen cut off the electricity and broke into the home of “Mohammad Hanif Ahmad Hamzo /67/ years old” in “Ain Dara” village – Sheirawa. They assaulted him and his disabled wife, beating them with a pipe and threatening them with a large knife. The intruders ransacked the house, stealing $300, 1,660 Turkish liras, and a mobile phone. They continued torturing the elderly couple until dawn prayers, pretending to be heading to the mosque as a cover for their escape.
– Incident on the Evening of February 14, 2025 two masked gunmen stormed the house of “Hameed Bakr Habash Kanjo /67/ years old” in “Badino” town – Rajo, while his wife and son were away. They threatened him with a gun, assaulted him, and looted $10,000 from his son’s room and $300 from his wife’s room before fleeing. Although the victim identified one of the assailants, “Osama Rahal/Abu Hassan Obama, ” the deputy leader of the “Brigade 112” militia controlling the town, refused to arrest or investigate the suspect. Instead, he staged a cover-up by roaming the town and knocking on the doors of Kurdish families, falsely claiming the thieves had escaped into their homes.
= Enforced Disappearance:
In a video report published on February 15, 2025, the Euphrates News Agency, affiliated with the Turkish occupation, revealed that “Ahmad Jamal Kabso, “the leader of the “Military Police – Afrin Branch”, released “Adnan Eiso Eiso /35/ years old, “a resident of “Dargireh”village – Mobato/Maabatli, to visit his daughter “Jilan, ” who was in intensive care at the Syrian Specialist Hospital in Afrin City. The child had gone missing three days earlier in “Marateh” village after her mother left the house to collect firewood while she was asleep.
According to the testimony of “Zeinab Sheikh Sadiq” (the wife) and a local source, “Adnan Eiso” was arrested six months ago on charges of having ties with the former Autonomous Administration, despite not having left the region since its occupation in March 2018. The “Military Police” kept him in enforced disappearance in their private prison, without any communication with the outside world or being presented before a fair trial. As a result, his impoverished family suffered from extortion and severe hardships.
= Arbitrary Arrests:
According to a local source, during the first week of this month, the Afrin Court, under Turkish occupation, released more than /45/ Kurdish citizens after imposing fines ranging from $500 to $600 on each of them. They had been arrested over the past two months by the “Military Police” militia and detained in “Marateh” Central Prison on charges of having ties with the former Autonomous Administration.
Additionally In mid-December 2024, a checkpoint at “Al-Shatt – Western Azaz Junction, ” controlled by the “Military Police” militia, arrested “Omar Sheikh Qanbar” (an elderly man) and his son, “Ahmad /23/ years old, ” from “Khalalka” village – Bulbul, while they were returning from a place of displacement. They were accused of fabricated charges. Omar was released after a week upon paying a $1,000 ransom. Ahmad was released after twenty days of detention following the payment of a $4,000 ransom.
= Thefts:
– In Badino Town: in addition to previous thefts and the aforementioned armed robbery, the following incidents occurred: two masked gunmen stole three sheep from a room in a battery workshop owned by “Abdeen Mohammad Mustafa/the Olo family” at the town’s entrance, despite the presence of a guard. Other gunmen stole a submersible pump from an artesian well belonging to “Bashar Mohammad Shaaban. ” Others stole a battery from a tractor owned by “Salah Mohammad Madour.” Additionally, three containers of olive oil (each 16 kg), a solar power inverter, and a sum of money were stolen from the house of the elderly “Rashid Hassan Dahdou.” Another group stole a mobile phone from “Maziet Mustafa, “an elderly woman. Attempts to rob the neighboring houses of “Ahmad Rashkeilo” and “Mohammad Hasnik” were unsuccessful.
Despite the high number of thefts in Badino over the past two months, the presence of surveillance cameras, a “Civil Police” militia headquarters, and checkpoints and bases of the “Brigade 112” militia, no thief has been apprehended so far. However, these forces are notably vigilant in interrogating and detaining any citizen returning to the town, while none of the settler families have been targeted by theft.
– In Jenderes City: On February 7, 2025, gunmen stole $500 from the house of “Raheem Suleiman Lotfi. “Others stole food supplies from the store of “Ahmad Mohammad Mohammad, known as (Jaafarsh), ” as well as his neighbor’s car. A robbery attempt on the house of “Mostafa Al-Diyan” failed.
– In “Korzeileh” Village – Sheirawa Subdistrict: On February 9, 2025, gunmen stole eight sheep from the home of “Mohammad Aziz Eibo. ” On the night of February 15, 2025, gunmen entered a property owned by “Abdulrahman Eibo” with the intent to steal a tractor, an engine, and other items. However, a group of local villagers, along with dozens of others, surrounded the building. In response, a local official from the “Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade – Al-Amshat” militia dispersed the crowd and protected the thieves, allowing them to escape. A week earlier, electrical cables and an agricultural inverter were stolen from the same property.
Additionally, a family originally from Homs countryside, occupying the house of the forcibly displaced “Waleed Aziz Eibo, “stole all the house’s contents, including its doors, windows, and a submersible pump with its accessories, before leaving the village. When “Waleed’s” daughter, who resides in the village, confronted them, she was insulted, threatened, and subjected to ethnic slurs, with the Kurds being called “pigs.”
– In “Hassandeira” Village – Bulbul Subdistrict: On February 12, 2025, a gunman stole a motorcycle belonging to “Ahmad Abdo. ”
– In “Sheikh Keileh” Village – Mobato/Maabatli Subdistrict: About ten days ago, gunmen stole /20/ sheep belonging to “Mousa Waleed, “while others stole a pickup truck. In the neighboring “Gubak” Village, other gunmen stole a water pump and clothing from the house of the elderly “Qader Hanan. ”
= In “Burj Qas Village” – Sheirawa Subdistrict:
In early December 2024, the village fell under the control of the Joint Forces militias (Al-Amshat and Al-Hamzat). They carried out extensive thefts, including:
Four pickup trucks belonging to “Omar Mohammad Ali, Hassan Ali, Hassan Ali Mamo, and Mohammad Ali. ”
Livestock, including:
/40/ sheep from “Najib Ali Mamo. ”
/12/ sheep from “Zuhair Arabo. ”
/60/ sheep from “Adham Ahmad. ”
/3/ cows from “Nader Mohammad Ali. ”
/6/ cows from “Nabi Rahmo. ”
All household belongings were looted from the homes of “Jameel Manan, ” including a power generator.
“Nabi Rahmo, ” along with his taxi.
“Nader Mohammad Ali, ” including his solar power system.
Additionally, during the shelling of the village, six houses were partially destroyed.
= Chaos and Lawlessness:
Recently, a patrol from the General Security Service arrested “Abu Yarub, “a prominent militia leader in Jenderes, for stealing two new Jeep vehicles from Damascus, which belonged to former regime officials, and hiding them in his possession. He was also involved in kidnapping a citizen from Aleppo and detaining him in Jenderes with the intention of demanding a ransom for his release.
Amid such a dire situation, the new Syrian authorities face significant challenges. They are under scrutiny regarding their ability to take practical steps in the areas mentioned above, following a national democratic approach. We wish them success in achieving this.
15.02.2025
Media Office-Afrin
Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekiti)
——————
Images:
– The injured elderly man, “Mohammad Hanif Ahmad Hamzo,” and the ransacking of his home in “Ain Dara” village on February 13, 2025.
– The elderly man, “Hamid Bakr Habash Kanjo.”
– Citizen “Adnan Iso Iso” with his wife and daughter in the hospital in Afrin, as shown in a video report by Furat News Agency dated February 15, 2025.
—————-
* Under the supervision of the European Organization of the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekîtî).
———–
You can download the full file by clicking here: