Arabic to English Translation*
In a continued display of securitized treatment toward the residents of Afrin under Turkish occupation, the General Security Service has begun conducting a population census in the region—starting with the Sharra/Sharran and Rajo subdistricts—based on data resembling security interrogations. These forms include detailed personal information for each family member, their current places of residence, the areas they have returned from, their occupations, the phone numbers of those residing in the region, and other related details.
With regard to the olive harvest season, evidence has shown that many of the economic offices affiliated with former militias remain active—having not yet been dissolved—and continue to engage in looting and extortion. Their members have re-emerged publicly, accompanied by their entourages, without being deterred by the Afrin administration, and without the General Security Service fulfilling its expected role in combating theft and preventing the ongoing seizures of private property, which continue to occur openly in broad daylight. This comes at a time when the residents of the region should be able to manage their property normally, as they did prior to the occupation in March 2018, and when the remnants of militia influence should be removed entirely. The authorities should intervene in the administration of private property only to resolve disputes.
The following are facts about the current situation:
= Murder Crimes:
Due to the fragile security situation in the region and the widespread chaos surrounding the possession and use of weapons, several murders occurred within a short period. The security services managed to apprehend only one perpetrator. These incidents include:
– Around 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, 5 November 2025, the citizen “Shukri Ahmad Oso /70/ years old, ” from the village of “Kafr Zeeteh” south of the city, was shot while driving his tractor on his way home, after leaving an olive press near the neighboring village of “Fareiriyeh. ” He died instantly. The perpetrator—belonging to the Isa family from the Umayrat tribe and residing in the village of “Burj Abdalo”—fled the scene, allegedly seeking revenge for his son, who had been killed fourteen years earlier following a dispute with one of Shukri Oso”s sons, despite multiple reconciliation initiatives to which the Oso family had agreed.
– Around 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, 6 November 2025, the citizen “Mohammad Eido Ahmad Darwish /57/ years old, ” from the village of “Burj Abdalo” – Sheirawa, was fatally shot by two masked gunmen. Both perpetrators fled. The victim”s body was taken by neighbors to the military hospital in the city and later returned to his home village a few hours afterward. The incident occurred after he attempted to exit the tent in which he had been residing with his wife—set up on his farmland irrigated by a solar-powered artesian well—after hearing the sound of the armed men.
– On the evening of Saturday, 8 November 2025, the citizen “Mustafa Mohammad Aiso, known as Iski, “originally from the village of “Qarmitlaq” – Shiyeh/Sheikh Al-Hadid, and residing with his family in Jenderes, was killed and his body concealed. He had been lured by the perpetrator, “Hamid Mohammad Keilo” from the village of “Sanoreh” – Shiyeh, to an olive field near his village and shot with a hunting rifle. The killer had promised to repay a debt of approximately 80,000 USD owed to the victim. The crime was uncovered after the perpetrator contacted the victim”s wife, demanding the debt certificates. This was confirmed by General Security investigations and testimonies from residents of Sanarah and surrounding areas.
– Around 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday, 12 November 2025, the settler “Hassan Mohammad al-Afash /60/ years old, ” originally from rural Deir ez-Zor, was shot in the head in front of the house he had seized since 2018 on the Tirende road in the Ashrafiyah neighborhood of Afrin, resulting in his death. His body was paraded twice through Afrin—once in the afternoon and again in the evening—accompanied by celebratory gunfire, some of which hit nearby houses. Accusations and chants were directed against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Kurdistan Workers” Party (PKK). It is worth noting that numerous circulated videos show al-Afash participating in gatherings of his supporters in Afrin. In one such video, he objected to Turkish government calls for normalization with the former Syrian regime and reopening crossings to ist areas. In two other videos recorded on 29 October 2025, he is seen brandishing a weapon, firing in the air, chanting takbirs, and shouting insults and threats against what he described as “Alawite remnants, atheist Kurdish pig painters, and Druze idol-worshippers, “after the Syrian Ministry of Defense announced “the killing of two soldiers near the Tishreen Dam—east of Aleppo—by an SDF-guided missile.” The SDF denied targeting the site, asserting that the two soldiers were killed by a landmine explosion.
– Numerous media outlets reported the killing of “Ibrahim Ahmad Yasin” and the serious injury of his wife “Manal Mahmoud, ” after armed thieves stormed their home in the village of “Miryameen, ” in the Sharra/Sharran subdistrict, at dawn on Thursday, 13 November 2025, intending to rob the house. The perpetrators fled after committing the crime.
= Assault on Civilians:
At dawn on Saturday, 18 October 2025, an armed group assaulted the citizens “Yousef Hameed Yousef /54/ years old and Mohammad Eibesh Shabo /17/ years old, ” both from the town of Maabatli/Mobato. The perpetrators beat, tied up, and verbally abused the two men while they were guarding a flock of sheep in the area of “Ghulghul – Zrovkeh, ” then stole /23/ sheep using a medium-sized truck before fleeing the scene.
= Chaos and Lawlessness:
– On the evening of Sunday, 19 October 2025, four individuals from the resettled population entered an olive grove near the village of “Anqaleh” – Sheikh al-Hadid/Shiyeh, with the intention of stealing it. In an attempt to deter the theft and in self-defense, the landowner, “Hussein Mustafa Khilo, ” fired shots in their direction, injuring one of them. The General Security Service subsequently arrested “Khilo” and his minor son “Mustafa. ” The son was released two days later, and the father was released after four days.
– On 2 November 2025, armed and masked assailants opened fire on “Jassem Shahada /45/ years old, ” a member of the Arab community from the village of “Nasriyeh” – Jinderes, while he was passing on his motorcycle along a dirt road near the neighboring village of “Aghjaleh. ” His leg and motorcycle were struck by several bullets.
– On the evening of 13 November 2025, a large brawl broke out between two families from the resettled population in Rajou Street in the city of Afrin, during which gunfire was indiscriminately discharged, causing fear and panic among civilians.
= Olive Harvest Season:
Due to severe drought this year, the decline in agricultural services, the direct and indirect seizure of millions of olive trees by militia leaders, and the indiscriminate cutting that has occurred over nearly eight years of Turkish occupation, this year”s olive yield has dropped to less than one-quarter of the average annual production recorded before the occupation.
Despite this drastic decline, remnants of the militias have not refrained from looting whatever they can by various means—most notably through exploiting their influence within the four sub-economic committees established by the Afrin District Administration. These committees adopted long, bureaucratic procedures for returning properties to returning residents and imposed onerous requirements, such as numerous ownership documents, inheritance certificates, and other proofs. They also approved the confiscation of half the produce of fields belonging to absent landowners (represented by proxies), thereby opening the door to widespread theft.
Looting has taken place by forming large harvesting crews to strip entire fields belonging to present and absent owners alike, by directly seizing harvests, imposing extortion payments, or releasing large groups of women and girls into olive fields under the pretext of performing “olive gleaning,” while landowners were too intimidated to stop them and the General Security Service failed to intervene.
Below are examples of looting and theft:
– The General Security Director in Sheikh al-Hadid/Shiyeh, aided by two collaborators, imposed a levy of /4–5/ tins of olive oil (each 16 kg net) on every olive press in the district under the pretext of zakat. Since the district contains more than twenty presses, the total amounted to roughly /100/ tins.
– In “Avrazeh”– Ma”batli/Mobato: /30/ trees belonging to “Amin Dawoud” were looted; in nearby “Gubakeh”: /50/ trees belonging to “Yahya Mustafa” were stripped in a single night.
– Dozens of resettled individuals temporarily housed in the “Suleiman Hall” near the Ma”batli junction—previously affiliated with the “Ahrar al-Sharqiya” militia—carried out and continue to carry out large-scale theft from the olive fields of the Ziravkeh and Katakh plains.
– A widely circulated video dated 16 October 2025 shows several women and girls stealing olives from a field near “Tirindeh, ” south of Afrin city, and throwing stones at the landowner “Ahmad Abdalo” and his wife when they demanded they leave.
– In “Sheikhoutkeh” – Ma”batli/Mobato: /250/ trees belonging to “Ahmad Safar Sido” were looted.
– In the villages of “Zarko and Chubono” – Rajo, individuals known as “Abu Diab” and “Abu Bashar” from the former economic office of the “Faylaq al-Majd” militia looted the harvest of approximately 1,000 trees, including: (/100/ trees belonging to “Hassan Aslan Moskola. ” /100/ trees belonging to “Najm al-Din Ahmad. “/70/ trees belonging to “Kamal Ahmad. (”
– /350/ trees belonging to the residents of “Shingeileh, ” near the villages of Meydono in Rajo district.
– In “Qaddah” – Rajo, former leaders of the “Hamzat Division prevented returning residents and proxies of absent owners from harvesting fields that had been seized since 2018, and stole them instead—including /200/ trees belonging to “Othman Haidar Qambour”
– In “Qara Guleh” – Bulbul, a representative of the economic committee seized the harvest of approximately /650/ trees belonging to “Bakr Khalil Akash, Qadira (widow of the late Muhammad Hanan), and the family of the late Bahri Taher Omar, ” despite their repeated appeals in Rajo. He also seized the harvest of /60/ trees belonging to “Sabri Mustafa” from nearby “Khaliloko”.
– In “Hasandeira” – Bulbul, individuals named “Mahmoud Jomaa Hamsho and Abdul Hafiz Barakat, ” former leaders of the “Hamzat Division, ” looted the harvest of numerous fields, especially those of absent owners. These included: (/800/ kg from “Hanan Jano, ” /1,000/ kg from “Walat Ismat Sheikho”. /100/ trees belonging to “Abedin Horo. “)
The looting was carried out with an official assignment from the economic committee and with a large labor crew.
– In “Atmono” – Rajo, remnants of the former “Hamzat Division” looted several citizens” fields, including: (/100/ trees belonging to “Amin Rashid. “/200/ trees belonging to the family of the late “Bilal Bilal. “(n “Kotono” – Bulbul, groups of thieves from the resettled population stole the harvest of several fields, including: (/50/ trees belonging to “Mustafa Ahmad Mamoush. ” /60/ trees belonging to “Muhammad Issa Mamoush. “)
– A militia leader named “Haider Ba”aj” from the “9th Division” prevented “Ahmad Sido Ali” from “Cheih”– Rajo from harvesting /100/ trees near the neighboring village of “Deekeh, ” claiming that the field had previously been contracted out (“guaranteed”) by the division”s economic office.
– In “Sa”ranjake” – Sharra/Sharran, /300/ trees belonging to “Farouq Hussein” were looted despite his having obtained harvest approval and field handover documentation from the economic committee.
– In the villages of “Beileh, Qazalbasha, Dawrisho, Aljio, Diraqliya, Sa”riya, Zaytunakeh, Omer Samu, Heftaro, Sheikhorzeh, Aboudan” in the Sharran and Bulbul districts, remnants of the “Hamzat Division and Elite Army, ” with the knowledge of the economic committee, formed large labor crews and looted the harvest of dozens of fields belonging to returning and absent citizens—despite the submission of ownership documents and while owners were still awaiting committee approval. Among those fields were: ( 1,000 trees belonging to “Fa”eq Ahmad Sheikh Ismail zadah. 200 trees belonging to the family of the late Anwar Muhammad Sheikh Ismail zadah” in Zaytunakeh) The citizen “Nihad Madour Omar” from “Bileih” – Bulbul reported that individuals known as “Abu Bakri” and “Abu Khaled” from the economic office of the “Elite Army” militia looted 250 sacks (22 tons of olives) from his 900 trees located near “Dawrisho, ” despite his having submitted his documents to the economic committee in Rajo and awaiting harvest approval. He filed complaints with the Sharran subdistrict director and the economic committee in Afrin, but to no avail.
– In “Sheikh Bala” – Rajo, remnants of the “Ahrar al-Sharqiya” militia looted approximately 150 sacks (13.5 tons) of olives from: /300/ trees belonging to the family of “Jamal al-Din Rashid Takka. ” /300/ trees belonging to the family of “Mahmoud Ahmad Habo. “/150/ trees belonging to “Mustafa Ahmad Habo. “While the owners were still waiting for the economic committee”s approval.
= Other Violations:
– In audio recordings sent to the mukhtar of the village of “Brad” – Sheirawa, issued in the name of the “Economic Office” in the village of “Marateh”—formerly associated with the “Hamzat Brigade” militia and now circulated on social media—the speaker demands that the villagers who returned this year, as well as the representatives of the absent owners, refrain from plowing and cultivating their lands, on the grounds that the lease or guarantee contracts for those lands have been renewed for others by the office—this time under the name of the “new state.” Those wishing to reclaim their properties are instructed to visit the office and bring official proof-of-ownership documents.
– In the village of “Keila” (Bulbul), on the night of 10 November 2025, an armed group stormed the house of lawyer Bayram, who was absent with his family. The group stole the large exterior gate, the windows and doors of the house, a living-room set, a television screen, and other items, using a truck to transport them.
The looting of the property of Afrin”s inhabitants, the seizure of their homes, the continuation of violations against them, and the ongoing rhetoric of incitement and hatred directed at them are all major factors fueling tensions between Kurds and Arabs and pose a serious threat to peace and stability.
15.11.2025
Media Office-Afrin
Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria
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Images:
– The citizen “Nihad Madour Omar” appears in a video discussing the theft of his olive harvest alongside media activist Ahmed Al-Barhou.
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* Under the supervision of the European Organization of the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria.
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