Arabic to English Translation*
In the context of the ongoing Turkish occupation, Turkish religious institutions continue to sponsor intensive religious activities that have been taking place in the region since 2018. On April 23, an official delegation led by the Deputy Governors of Hatay Province— “Olive Branch Area Coordinators” İbrahim Güneş and Emin Kaymak—visited the city of Afrin to inspect the status of education at the Baraem al-Jannah kindergartens. During the visit, the delegation distributed gifts and cash to children and honored female teachers. Additionally, on April 27, a delegation from the Turkish Mufti’s Office in Antalya visited Afrin to observe the ongoing “Qur’an memorization circles” for both boys and girls. The delegation also distributed gifts to students and honored the educational staff.
The following are facts about the current situation:
= Civilian Martyrdom:
On Monday, May 5, 2025, the civilian “Mohammad Deeb Abdo Mohammad/also known as Deebo Abdo Deebo, aged 68, “a native of the village of “Basleh/Baselhaya” in Mount Leelon, was killed by the explosion of a landmine—left behind by what is referred to as the “Syrian National Army”—while a demining expert, hired at his own expense, was clearing his olive field. The blast caused severe injuries and heavy bleeding, leading to his death during transport to a hospital in Aleppo. The martyr Deebo had been displaced to the nearby village of “Oquibeh/Aqeebah, ” as the residents of “Basleh” remain prohibited from returning to their village, which has been occupied by the Turkish military and converted into a military base since 2018.
= Assault on Civilian:
On the evening of Friday, May 2, 2025, upon his arrival in the village of “Shurba” – Mobato/Maabatli, the young man “Mohammad Mohammad Jabr, ” who had come from his hometown Maydanki to carry out his work in internet network distribution, was stopped and physically assaulted by armed men emerging from a headquarters belonging to the militia “Hamzat Division”. The assault was carried out as part of an extortion attempt. “Jabr” refrained from filing a complaint with the General Security apparatus out of fear of further retaliatory attacks.
= Arbitrary Arrests:
– On April 25, 2025, the General Security checkpoint at the junction of Azaz city on the Aleppo–Afrin Road arrested citizen “Walid Mohammad Mohammad aged /52/,” a resident of the village “Sa’rinjakeh” – Sharra/Sharran Subdistrict, on charges of alleged affiliation with the Autonomous Administration. He was detained while returning to Aleppo from his first visit to his village since 2018. He was released on May 6, 2025.
= Thefts:
– On May 6, 2025, two armed and masked individuals on a motorcycle robbed two young men working in an olive grove near the “Qasim” village junction on the Rajo–Zirka road. The victims, from the nearby village of “Keila” – Bulbul Subdistrict, were stripped of two mobile phones and sums of money.
– In the village of “Tilifeh”, southwest of Afrin city, on May 3, 2025, armed thieves stole a solar power system (panels, inverter, and battery) from the home of “Nazliyah Mustafa, ” the widow of the late Khalil Abdi, while she was away. On May 7, 2025, other thieves stole two internet receivers from two different homes in the same village.
– Groups of settlers are stealing vine leaves from grape orchards belonging to the original residents of the villages “Zirka, Keila, and Kareh” in the Rajo and Bulbul subdistricts, specifically in the Jerqa Valley and the plain near the Ashunah Dam. Armed men scout the fields during the day and sometimes impersonate General Security personnel. For example, two masked men on a motorcycle, claiming to be from the General Security, entered a vineyard belonging to “Mohammad Memo” in “Keila” village. They attempted to steal whatever they could, but when “Memo’s” sister began screaming, they fled the scene.
= Other Violations:
– On the evening of Friday, April 26, 2025, when several olive grove owners from the town of “Maydan Akbas” – Rajo, including the town’s mukhtar (local head), objected to herds of livestock grazing among their trees, the armed shepherds—affiliated with the “Sham Legion (Faylaq al-Sham) ” militia—responded by firing shots at them and issuing threats.
– On April 30, 2025, the mukhtar of “Bileelko” village – Rajo, citizen “Mohammad Hussein, ” went with his relative “Sheikho Meho” and a worker from among the settlers to his vineyard near the neighboring village of “Kharab Salouk. ” There they found a herd of livestock grazing in the vineyard. When they attempted to drive the animals away, the owner of the herd, “Ibrahim Nasser (Abu Muthanna) “—a settler—along with others accompanying him, assaulted them. Additional relatives of “Abu Muthanna” joined the attack, resulting in a brawl between the two sides, during which several individuals sustained injuries and bruises.
= Chaos and Lawlessness:
– On April 27, 2025, two members of the “Al-Mu’tasim” Division militia were found dead inside a villa in the village of “Juimkeh”, east of Afrin. The building had served as a military headquarters for the militia since 2018. Some parties and individuals were quick to accuse the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) of the killings, in what appeared to be an attempt to tarnish the group’s reputation, incite Arab-Kurdish discord, and undermine the agreement signed between President Ahmad al-Shara’ and Commander Mazloum Abdi. However, the official Syrian news agency SANA quoted the General Security Directorate in Aleppo as stating that “within less than 12 hours of discovering the killing of two members of the Syrian Arab Army in Afrin,” the details of the incident had been uncovered and the perpetrator apprehended. The statement confirmed that “the incident was due to a personal dispute among the group’s members and had no external connections.”
Meanwhile, the situation in Afrin under Turkish occupation remains insecure. Most violations and crimes go unrecorded, and impartial investigations are rarely conducted by the multitude of existing authorities. Perpetrators frequently escape accountability with ease, and it remains possible for a single armed individual to extort and threaten an entire village with impunity.
10.05.2025
Media Office-Afrin
Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekiti)
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Images:
– A formal delegation led by the Deputy Governors of Hatay Province, Turkey, visited Afrin on April 23, 2025.
– A delegation from the Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs (Mufti’s Office) in Antalya visited Afrin on April 27, 2025.
– The martyr “Mohammad Deeb Abdo Mohammad. ”
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* Under the supervision of the European Organization of the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekîtî).
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