Arabic to English Translation*
The authorities imposed on the Afrin region by the Transitional Government in Damascus have continued to handle matters primarily through a security lens, amid ongoing Turkish occupation, despite some positive developments. Most personnel in the internal security apparatus are from outside the region, and many are former militia members previously implicated in violations and crimes. There is no plan to restructure the security forces with local personnel, although thousands have applied for membership amid accompanying media propaganda, without any significant results.
In early August, Kurdish detainees (accused of affiliation with the Party) held in the central Marateh Prison in Afrin were transferred to the Al-Rai prison in the Al-Bab area, cutting off their contact with the outside world. Their fate remains unknown. Security considerations continue to dominate the management of civilian property, and following the recent assaults on the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah neighborhoods in Aleppo, security patrols and measures have intensified in Afrin.
The following are facts about the current situation:
= Assaults on Civilians:
– On the evening of 20 September 2025, three masked armed individuals stormed the home of Yazidi citizen “Fattah Ali Musa” /60/ years old in the village of “Jaqali Juimeh” – Jenderes. They brutally beat him and his spouse, tied them up, threatened them with knives to prevent any complaints, and stole their cash, gold jewelry, and mobile phones before fleeing.
– Around 10:00 PM on Wednesday, 8 October 2025, citizen “Mohammed Jangir Deeko /37/ years old” was assaulted on a dirt road near his village of “Qasim” after finishing work in an olive field he owns near the village of “Jeiqilmah”– Rajo. Two thieves, caught in the headlights of his vehicle while stealing olives from a neighboring field, fired shots at him, overturned his vehicle, physically assaulted him, tied him up, and fled. Deeko managed to walk until he met a villager who transported him to a hospital in Afrin. The next day, a general security patrol arrested several newcomers on the junction of Mobato/Maabatli town transporting olive sacks to Afrin, who confessed to this and other olive thefts, residing with their families in the nearby village of “Sheikh Bala” – Jaqlma.
= Arbitrary Arrests:
The Security Apparatus in the Shiyeh/Sheikh Al-Hadeed subdistrict summoned Kurdish citizens who had served in the “People’s Protection Units, Women’s Units, Asayish, and compulsory recruitment” under the previous autonomous administration for questioning regarding their personal information and prior activities, before releasing them.
On 11 September 2025, while returning from Aleppo, the Security Apparatus arrested “Rinas Abdulrahman Omar /25/ years old and Abdulrahman Fawzi Omar /23/ years old” from the village of “Kurzeileh” – Sheirawa while they were on a motorcycle, after inspecting their mobile phones and seeing an image of the Syrian Democratic Forces flag. They were released after four days.
A reliable source reported that in mid-September, the Military Police/Security Apparatus in Afrin discovered /11/ abducted citizens from Afrin and others kidnapped since early December 2024 during the Northern Aleppo (Shahba) campaign by so-called Syrian National Army militias. These individuals were being held in a secret prison run by the “Joint Force” militias “Hamzat Division and Sultan Suleiman Shah/Al-Amshet Division” in the village of “Qatma” – Sharra/Sharran. They were transferred to Afrin and then handed over to the Military Police branch in Azaz, but family members could not see them as they were again hidden without charges. The detainees included: Barakat Ali Julak from “Jalameh” – Jenderes, Mohammed Nidal Hussein from Rajo town, Janiar Mohammed Keilo from “Sourkeh”- Rajo, Hussein Jamal from “Maydan Akbas” town- Rajo, Qusay Hussein Khalaf from the city of “Qamishlo”, Basim Miqdad from “Basileih” – Robario who is a special need person, Ghassan Oso from “Seifat/Handarat” northern of Aleppo, Mohammed and Omar sons of Ibrahim Mustafa from “Badino” town, Samir Nazmi from Afrin, and Hussein from Rajo town. The Joint Forces released two citizens previously for ransom.
In early August, the Security Apparatus also transferred dozens of Kurdish detainees (previously sentenced and under investigation, accused of Party affiliation) from Marateh Prison to Al-Rai prison, cutting off external communication. Hundreds of detainees from the Syrian coast were also sent to this prison.
= Olive Harvest Season:
For the first time, the Transitional Authority formed an Economic Committee for Afrin. On 18 September 2025, the Afrin administration issued a “directive outlining procedures for reclaiming property,” requiring certified documentation from authorized lawyers (a 200 Turkish Lira fee per file) to submit to the subdistrict office, which forwards it to the main committee.
A separate directive required citizens to pause any olive picking or harvesting until the Mukhtar could access the fields and transport produce through security checkpoints.
Despite the official start dates (table olives: 20 September 2025; olive oil harvest: 15 October 2025), bureaucratic processes remain in place, delaying ownership verification.
On 23 September, Deputy Governor of Aleppo, Abdulrahman Salameh, met with dozens of Afrin citizens, the regional director, and committee members to hear complaints and promised facilitation, though on-the-ground implementation has been minimal, aside from some property proof via witness statements or video documentation on WhatsApp.
Local subcommittees in “Shiyeh/Sheikh Al-Hadeed, Mobato/Meabtali, Rajo, Bulbul, Sharra/Sharran, and Jenderes,” composed of former militia economic office members, require returning citizens to provide new property documentation, inheritance verification, and demand 50% of absentee owners’ olive harvests, regardless of production costs or theft risks.
Certain “Hamzat” militia remnants “Abu Kaser in Sharqia” and “Abu Sheikh in Daraqliya” continue to occupy hundreds of olive fields in the two villages and the neibourings in Bulbul subdistrict, withholding them from returning owners or absentee agents after the fall of old regieme.
An “Ahrar Al-Sharqiya” militia leader controls around /2,500/ olive trees and /1,000/ pomegranate trees in “Miskeh Foqani” – Jenderes, as well as agricultural association properties.
The committee did not clarify by what law or under what pretext this levy is imposed on the property of absentees, how their rights will be preserved, where the imports of these large levies will go, and whether there is a transparent and fair mechanism for collecting them and depositing them in the region`s management fund, or will it go into the pockets of former militia leaders to appease them and comfort them.
= Other Violations:
– On the night of 12 September 2025, masked thieves attempted to steal from “Mustafa Hamid Hassan /36/ years old” in “Hassan” – Rajo. They started assaulting the couple but the homeowner resisted and forced them to flee.
– On 30 September, a group in Security Apparatus uniforms raided “Khoja Hussein Khorshid’s” home in “Kuira” – Jenderes. They kneeled the family members by gun force but fled when neighbors gathered.
– In late September, elements of Abu Kaser’s “Hamzat Division” kidnapped “Mohammed Mohammed Horo” from “Qirto” – Bulbul while he harvested olives from feilds belonging to him, seizing four sacks (~360 kg) and demanding a $1,000 ransom for release. Security complaints were ignored, with further threats issued.
– On 7 October 2025, masked thieves stole a motorcycle belonging to “Mohammed Bashir Hisso/Ghazal family” in “Kafr Safra” – Jenderes.
– Last week, armed thieves stole a motorcycle belonging to the sons of the late Abdul Rahman Khalil Jimeh from “Jaqali Juimeh” – Jenderes and on 9 October 2025 while they were going to Afrin to file a complaint about that, as they stopped near “Andarieh” junction, an armed group riding a car with the internal security name on it abducted the owners, stealing a second motorcycle and leaving them near the neighbouring village of “Kafr Zeeteh.”
– Remnants of “Ahrar Al-Sharqiya” in “Sandanke, Jaqali Juimeh, Burjikeh, Qeileh, Miskeh Foqani and Thtani,” refuse to return olive fields and homes to returning owners without financial levies, while departing civilian newcomers have looted all houses equipments, doors and windows over the past eight years.
– Around ten days ago, “Hamzat Division” remnants established an armed checkpoint at the “Hassan-Qaddah” intersection in Rajo to extort citizens during the olive season and impose levies on them during the olive season.
– During the previous week, women, minors, and children from newcomers from camps between “Trendeh” and Afrin’s Ashrafiyah have openly stolen olives from “Kurzeileh” – Sheirawa, with locals too fearful to intervene. Security personnel claim non-intervention, citing that thieves are women.
Dealing with regional issues from a security perspective, the slowness in addressing them, and the continued plundering of the livelihoods of its citizens, in addition to numerous violations, undermine efforts to stabilize the country, and the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa bears responsibility for them.
11.10.2025
Media Office-Afrin
Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria
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Images:
– Assaulted civilian: Fattah Ali Musa.
– Assaulted civilian: Mohammed Jangir Deeko.
– Afrin administration directive on property reclamation.
– Afrin administration directive on pausing olive picking.
– Meeting of Aleppo Deputy Governor Abdulrahman Salameh in Afrin (23 September 2025).
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* Under the supervision of the European Organization of the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria.
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