Arabic to English Translation*
Given the continued presence of security and military headquarters belonging to militias affiliated with the so-called “Syrian National Army,” supported by Turkish intelligence, the new regional administrator and the General Security apparatus have thus far been unable to effectively curb violations and crimes, impose security, or enforce the rule of law as required. As a result, militia members and their allied settlers remain largely free to act as they wish, engaging in practices such as seizing homes and properties of local residents—including many who have recently returned—and refusing to return them except in exchange for extortion payments. They also carry out thefts, assaults on civilians up to and including murder, as well as vandalizing homes and stealing whatever remains once vacated by their occupiers. Most of those subjected to such abuses do not dare to file complaints or confront their violators, out of fear of punishment and further injustice or violence.
The following are facts about the current situation:
= Killing of a Minor:
Following repeated thefts in the area, while he was guarding farmlands, irrigation well equipment, and solar power installations together with his father, uncle, and other young men on the outskirts of “Sanoreh” village – Shiyeh/Sheikh al-Hadid, which lies within the sector controlled by the militia known as the “Sultan Suleiman Shah Division” (“al-Amshat”), on the night of Wednesday, June 18, 2025, an armed settler thief opened fire on “Mustafa Jamil Hameed Sheikho, “a 16-year-old minor from “Haj Hassana” village – Jenderes, resulting in his death at dawn on Thursday, June 19, 2025, after he was transported with critical injuries to the Syrian Specialized Hospital in Afrin.
To date, the General Security Directorate has not disclosed the outcome of its investigations, nor whether the perpetrator has been apprehended, amid widespread outrage and condemnation by local residents, who are demanding that the criminals be brought to justice and that the militias and settlers return to their original areas to secure a safe environment. In this context, the regional administrator Masoud Batal and General Security chief Colonel Suraqa Amouri visited the village to offer condolences and promised to follow up on the case.
Meanwhile, on June 20, 2025, a youth demonstration took place near Newroz roundabout in Afrin city, denouncing this heinous crime, honoring the martyred youth, and demanding accountability for the perpetrators. However, General Security forces—many of whom were previously affiliated with the “Military Police” militia—surrounded the protest, fired shots into the air, insulted the demonstrators, and arrested four of them, who were released several hours later.
= Assault on a Civilian:
Earlier today, while working in his olive field located between the junctions of the villages of “Sheikh and Deekeh, “adjacent to his own village “Cheh (al-Jabaliyah) “in Rajo subdistrict, two armed men on a motorcycle forcibly seized an axe from the hands of “Badri Muhammad Ali, a 70-year-old” local resident, and struck him on the head and back. They then stole a sum of money, his mobile phone, and his “gray Mazda pickup truck, “leaving the elderly man covered in blood and lying on the ground before fleeing the scene. The victim was subsequently transported to a hospital in Afrin city, where his condition remains critical.
= Abduction of a Civilian:
On the night of June 27, 2025, a group of four armed men abducted “Ibrahim Khalil Hamsharo, /66/ years old, ” a resident of “Qeebareh” village, from his home in the Ashrafieh neighborhood of Afrin city. They also stole his “black Kia Rio taxi, ” which he had owned for more than /14/ years, under the pretext that the vehicle had been previously stolen. To date, the whereabouts and fate of “Hamsharo” remain unknown.
= Arbitrary Arrests:
– On December 5, 2024, as some displaced families from Afrin were returning from the Shahba region in northern Aleppo countryside to their homeland, militias affiliated with the so-called “Syrian National Army” arrested dozens of Afrin residents. Among them were “Mohammad Ahmad Othman (born 1988), Rashid Mohammad Keilo (born 1997), and Janyar Mohammad Keilo (born 2007), ” originally from “Arandeh” village in Shiyeh/Sheikh al-Hadid subdistrict, though prior to March 2018 they had been living in “Suirkeh” village – Rajo. While “Mohammad Othman and Rashid Keilo” were later released during a prisoner exchange in the Ashrafieh neighborhood of Aleppo city, the fate of “Janyar” remains unknown, especially given that he was separated from his brother “Rashid” on the very first day of their detention.
– At dawn on Saturday, June 21, 2025, a General Security patrol raided the home of “Mohammad Bakr” at the junction to “Mosako” village – Rajo, arresting his “18-year-old son Rashid. “He was released four days later. The reason for his detention was a political post he had shared on the social media platform TikTok.
= Militia “Ahrar al-Sharqiya”:
The militia known as “Ahrar al-Sharqiya,” led by “Ahmad Ihsan Fayad al-Hayes (also called Abu Hatim Shaqra), “maintains a significant presence and influence in the villages of “Miskeh Fouqani and Tahtani, Qeeleh, Jaqalo Joumiya, Khalta, Sindankeh, Birjikeh, Aghjaleh, and Hammam” in the Jenderes subdistrict. It operates two checkpoints in “Sindankeh and Miskeh Tahtani, ” has security headquarters in “Aghjaleh and Hammam, “and a military base in the building of “the former municipality and farmers’ association” in “Miskeh Fouqani. ” The militia has seized properties belonging to absentee owners, including olive and pomegranate fields and several irrigation wells, which they cultivate for their own benefit. They also graze large herds of livestock indiscriminately on local farmlands, and typically refuse to return homes and properties to returning rightful owners except upon payment of extortion fees, often under various pretexts. In some cases, when those occupying seized homes leave, they even remove doors and windows from the properties.
There have also been numerous incidents of theft, involving motorcycles, solar power panels and their equipment, internet network devices, and more, particularly in the villages of “Miskeh. ” The official overseeing these villages is known as “Abu Fawaz,” originally from Deir ez-Zor province. Despite the claims by the Damascus government of having dissolved militias following the so-called “Victory Conference” held on January 29, 2025, members of “Ahrar al-Sharqiya” remain armed, stationed in their headquarters, and freely move among civilians while carrying weapons.
= “Economic Committee”:
After Masoud Batal officially began his duties as Director of the Afrin region, he held several meetings with dozens of local residents. However, only a few attended, largely due to fears of the militias and Turkish intelligence. During these meetings — notably on July 2, 2025 — some citizens raised their concerns, to which Batal responded by acknowledging that Afrin’s suffering for more than seven years had been exceptional, adding that he had heard stories that could move anyone to tears.
In the last week of the previous month, a so-called “Economic Committee” was formed, comprised mostly of individuals newly settled in the area who are loyal to the Turkish occupation. This committee subsequently held three meetings with “heads of local councils in Afrin and its subdistricts, as well as village mukhtars,” according to posts on the “Afrin Local Council” Facebook page and other social media accounts. These sources described the committee’s mandate as: acting as “the body responsible for transferring public properties, including buildings and lands, to the relevant councils and directorates, ensuring the handover of private properties to their rightful owners, explaining the committee’s operating mechanisms and avenues for citizen appeals, “and emphasizing its readiness to “receive and review complaints. “The committee also announced the start of a new phase to “strengthen institutional work and unify the legal reference framework to address certain grievances under the current circumstances.” It has since established branch offices in several subdistricts.
Fundamentally, it is the role of the state to protect property, safeguard private ownership, and adjudicate disputes through legal institutions and the judiciary in accordance with the law. Given the situation in Afrin, this requires stripping militias and all unrelated parties of any control over private properties, which should be managed directly by their owners, relatives, or legal representatives — not by turning this newly formed committee into yet another bureaucratic tool for stalling, interference, and manipulation of property rights, much like previous bodies set up by the Turkish occupation, such as the “Restitution of Rights Committees” and those established by the “Syrian Opposition Coalition.”
Residents are already concerned that this committee may once again resort to confiscating properties or obstructing their return to rightful owners under new pretexts — such as branding them as (belonging to political parties or members) thereof, citing insufficient documentation, or exploiting the absence of the actual owners, many of whom have only provided verbal authorizations to local representatives.
Serious questions have also arisen about the committee’s legal basis, its actual powers and enforcement mechanisms, the qualifications of its members, and whether there are safeguards to prevent bias — whether out of ignorance, favoritism, or bribery.
Ultimately, the core of the problem could be resolved “with a stroke of a pen” by Turkish intelligence, simply by directing the militias to relinquish private properties to their legitimate owners, while public assets are already clearly designated for appropriate governmental bodies.
Moreover, the continued presence of remnants of militias, or their recycling into new structures under the General Security Service and the newly formed Ministry of Defense — such as the integration of former “Military Police” elements into “General Security” or of “Hamzat Division” members into “Division 76” under the command of “Saif Abu Bakr, “which recently deployed 1,000 fighters to Afrin — hinders the implementation of the Sharh–Abdi agreement and delays the return of forcibly displaced persons. It also emboldens these elements to commit further abuses with impunity, at a time when the task of maintaining security and protecting property should primarily be entrusted to the indigenous population of the region.
05.07.2025
Media Office-Afrin
Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekiti)
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Images:
– The martyred youth Mustafa Jameel Hameed Sheikho.
– The assaulted elderly man Badri Mohammed Ali.
– The Mazda pickup truck belonging to the assault victim Badri Mohammed Ali.
– The abducted elderly man Ibrahim Khalil Hamsharo.
– The Kia Rio taxi belonging to the abducted Ibrahim Khalil Hamsharo.
– The young detainee of unknown fate Janyar Mohammed Keilo.
– Masoud Batal, Director of the Afrin region, receiving some local residents on July 2, 2025.
– The “Economic Committee” in a meeting with “local councils and village mukhtars.”
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* Under the supervision of the European Organization of the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekîtî).
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