Arabic to English Translation*
The reinstatement of most former local council heads in the Afrin region as heads of municipalities, along with the retention of the majority of their members and employees, mirrors the integration of most elements of the former “Military Police” militia and other armed groups into the General Security apparatus. These structures, previously subordinate to the Turkish occupation, are now part of a plan to link the region’s institutions to Aleppo Governorate, while the “Civil Police” militia and key security nodes within the remnants of the so-called “Syrian National Army” continue to operate in coordination with Turkish intelligence, which still controls the security file. Additionally, Turkish military bases remain in place, preventing the return of residents to five villages due to their presence, while Hatay Province has officially retained administrative control over the area since 2018. These are undeniable facts that demonstrate Turkey’s continued occupation of the region and its obstruction of the implementation of the Shar’a–Abdi Agreement and the creation of a safe environment for the return of the displaced.
The following are facts about the current situation:
= Civilian Injured by Gunfire:
On the evening of Friday, August 1, 2025, a settler originating from the town of Abu al-Thuhur in southeastern Idlib countryside, identified by local media sources as “Mazen al-Mahmoud, ” opened fire on “Guevara Ahmad Hassan /30/ years old, ” a resident of the village of “Juiqeh/Jouiq” in central Afrin, inside his grocery shop in the village. Hassan sustained serious injuries, particularly to his right leg, and was transported to the Syrian Specialty Hospital in Afrin for treatment. The incident occurred after “Guevara” demanded payment of accumulated debts from “Mazen” and refused to continue selling goods on credit. The assailant fled the scene.
= Assault on a Civilian:
– On July 8, 2025, while unloading a water tank attached to his tractor at a house behind the “Police Command” building in the town of Rajo, “Zakaria Ali Hamki /28/ years old” from the village of “Atmono” – Rajo was severely beaten and shot at near his feet with a pistol by three armed settlers under a fabricated pretext. He sustained multiple broken ribs bruises on his body. No measures were taken to hold the attackers accountable or to arrest them.
– On the evening of July 10, 2025, while returning from his farmland located near the “Batman Spring” – the Black River, close to the intersection of “Kimraseh”on the Rajo road, three masked armed men wearing General Security uniforms and riding a motorcycle intercepted “Mohammad Sheikhmos Youssef /40/ years old” from the village of “Atmono” – Rajo. They fired an AK-47 rifle between his legs, stopped him, brutally beat him, and stole his motorcycle, mobile phone, and a sum of money before fleeing. The victim filed a complaint with the General Security, but no action was taken.
– On the night of July 12, 2025, two burglars broke into the home of “Mohammad Qadib al-Ban son of Ali /30/ years old” in the town of Rajo, where he was sleeping beside his brother and sister. When Mohammad awoke and fought with the burglars, he was stabbed in the forearm and sustained bruises on his body before the burglars fled.
– On July 13, 2025, several settlers affiliated with the “Sultan Suleiman Shah” Brigade insulted and assaulted “Rashid Mohammad Julaq /60/ years old” in the town of Sheikh al-Hadid (Shiyeh) because he demanded repayment of outstanding debts from one of them for goods purchased from his grocery shop, which the debtor refused to pay.
– On the evening of July 22, 2025, near the intersection of “Altania, ” while returning from the neighboring village of “Blilko” to his home village of “Mamolo”– Rajo, armed men wearing General Security uniforms and riding a motorcycle stopped “Mahmoud Ali Ismail /45/ years old” and his child after firing shots near them. They forced them into a nearby forest, tied Mahmoud up, severely beat him, and stole his motorcycle, mobile phone, and a sum of money before fleeing.
– On the evening of July 24, 2025, two armed men impersonating General Security officers and riding motorcycle stopped “Nizar Mohammad Eihmo /20/ years old” from the village “Jaqmoqo”– Rajo between the intersections of Jaqmaq and Chanchaliyo, as he was heading to guard a vineyard. They fired several shots near him, struck him with a rifle butt, and stole his motorcycle, hunting rifle, mobile phone, and some of money before fleeing.
= Five Depopulated Villages:
Social media pages have circulated over the past two days—information we have verified—regarding a petition dated July 13, 2025, written in the name of “Basileh Village Mukhtar – Mohammad Hassan Maqdad”, who resides in Afrin city, addressed “To Whom It May Concern and to Anyone Able to Help Us.” The petition describes the plight of the village’s residents, who have been displaced since early 2018 and remain scattered among neighboring villages and the cities of Afrin and Aleppo, among others, because of the continued presence of the Turkish military in their village. They have been repeatedly prevented from re-entering their homes, while livestock graze destructively on their lands. The petition notes that the residents suffer from poverty and lack of housing, and that the village itself is subject to destruction, fortifications, and landmines. The mukhtar appealed for a solution to enable the safe return of the villagers and the clearance of landmines from the village and its surrounding farmland.
On August 1, 2025, the media director of Afrin’s current administrative authority stated: “For seven years, the residents of the villages of Basileh, Cheh, Darwisho, and Shikhurzeh Fouqani have been unable to return to their homes due to the presence of Turkish military bases there. These villages have remained closed to their rightful inhabitants despite repeated demands. Today, with direct follow-up from the Regional Director, Mr. Masoud Batal, we affirm that this issue is being addressed, and God willing, the residents will soon be able to return to their villages.”
We have previously documented in dozens of published reports over the past seven years that the Turkish military has caused the complete displacement of residents from five villages since its occupation of the region in March 2018 and continues to prevent their return. These villages are: “Basileh/Basilhaya” and “Jilbireh and its surrounding farms” in Mount Leelon, “Darwisho” and “Cheh/Jabaliyeh” in Rajo Subdistrict, and “Shikhurzeh Fouqani” in Bulbul Subdistrict. This constitutes a crime against humanity and a grave violation of international humanitarian law.
= Arbitrary Arrests:
During June, several detainees from Afrin, who had been forcibly disappeared for more than seven years in Turkish occupation prisons, were released. Some escaped along with others from the prisons of Al-Rai and Marea after they were stormed by armed groups and local residents following the fall of the Assad regime, while others were released after sham trials that closed their cases or after completing their sentences in Turkish prisons. Among them were: “Nawaf Waleed Allo /35/ years old from Dimilyo village – Rajo; Doghan Murad Ismail /30/ years old from Habo village – Mobato/Maabatli; Ismail Mohammad Hamresho /27/ years old from Kakhireh village – Mobato/Maabatli; and Bakr Abdeen Habash /35/ years old from Badino town – Rajo. ”
However, the fate of dozens—if not hundreds, as no precise statistics exist—remains unknown. These include: “Ahmad Mahmoud Hamo/Abu Jabal /40/ years old from Dimilyo village – Rajo; Khalil Abdeen Habash /45/ years old from Badino town – Rajo; Fawzi Hameed Hamza (born 1976) from Guliyo Tahtani village – Rajo; Hamza Shaaban Ibrahim (born 1992) and his sister Asiya (born 2002) from Khalilka village – Bulbul; Ahmad Sheikho son of Sido /28/ years old from Keila village – Bulbul; Nouri Ibrahim Jabo /43/ years old from Qara Guleh village – Bulbul; and Riyad Aref Jabo /45/ years old from Kakhereh village – Mobato/Maabatli. ”
There are also Kurdish detainees still held in the central Marateh prison in Afrin, charged with alleged affiliation to the “Party” (the Democratic Union Party – PYD). These include: (“Mohammad Ahmad Said and Mohammad Mustafa Binafsha” from the town of Jalameh – Jenderes, and “Adnan Abdul Rahman” from Kafrzeeteh village – Afrin center.)
Additionally, some Afrin IDPs were arrested during the military incursion into the Shahba area of northern Aleppo countryside or when attempting to return to the region. They were detained by factions of the so-called “Syrian National Army” and transferred to prisons in Azaz, Marea, and Al-Rai, with their fate remaining unknown.
On July 9, 2025, a joint patrol of Turkish intelligence and the “Civil Police – Political Branch” in Maabatli arrested “Haydar Sido son of Bakr /63/ years old” from his home in “Sheikhuitka” village, along with his son, who was released after four days, while “Haydar” remains under arbitrary detention. He had previously been detained on another occasion.
On the same day, July 9, 2025, the Public Security Forces arrested “Hussein Ismail Ahmad /48/ years old” from “Mamolo” village – Rajo and handed him over to remnants of the “Military Police” affiliated with Turkish intelligence. Hussein had been detained for more than a year and a half in Marea prison after being forcibly deported from Turkey along with his family. He remains under arbitrary detention.
= Forest Fires:
Due to the accumulation of dense remnants of forest trees that had been cut down by Turkish occupation militias in previous years, a massive fire broke out on the afternoon of Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in a forested area between the villages of “Arandeh and Tirmuisho” in the Sheikh al-Hadid (Shiyeh) subdistrict, consuming a wide area. The “Syrian Civil Defense” confirmed that its teams, in cooperation with local community actors and residents, were able to extinguish the fire after 18 hours of work.
The “Syrian Civil Defense” also confirmed that on Sunday, July 20, 2025, its teams extinguished another forest fire in the mountain of Haj Hassana village in the Jenderes subdistrict.
= Other Violations:
– Around ten families of former militants from the “Elite Army” militia in the village of “Shekhuitko” – Mobato/Maabatli subdistrict refuse to return to their original areas of residence and continue to occupy the homes of returning village families. They provoke local residents and openly state that they will only leave after profiting from the upcoming olive harvest; among them is an individual known as “Colonel Abu Jumaa.”
– Recently, prior to the departure of several families of resettled newcomers to their original regions, they looted and stole the entire contents of homes belonging to citizens “Hanif Mohammed Kurdi, Hanif Horo, Wahid Mohammed Omar, and Khalil Omar” in the village of “Mamilo” – Rajo, which had been seized since 2018.
– On July 24, 2025, an armed group stole a power generator from the home of Dr. Adel Zeinel in the village of “Tilifeh, ” located within Afrin’s central district.
The continued failure to clear prisons of detainees held on political grounds or accused of affiliation with the former Autonomous Administration, and the ongoing concealment of the fate of forcibly disappeared Afrin residents for more than seven years, directly contradicts the actions taken by the transitional authority in other prisons and its announced commitment to opening a new national chapter. This constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
02.08.2025
Media Office-Afrin
Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekiti)
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Images:
– Victims of Assault: “Zakaria Ali Hamki, Mohammed Sheikhmos Yousef, Mohammed Qadib Al-Ban son of Ali, Rashid Mohammed Julaq, Mahmoud Ali Ismail, Nizar Mohammed Eihmo. ”
– Petition submitted by the Mukhtar of “Basileh”village, Mohammed Hassan Maqdad.
– Disappeared detainees: “Ahmed Mahmoud Hamo, Khalil Abidin Habash, Fawzi Hameed Hamzeh, Hamza Shaban Ibrahim, Asia Shaban Ibrahim, Ahmed Sheikho son of Sido, Nuri Ibrahim Jabo, Riyad Aref Jabo. ”
– A forest fire in the mountain area of “Arandeh” village, Shiyeh/Sheikh Al-Hadid subdistrict.
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* Under the supervision of the European Organization of the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekîtî).
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