SDF welcomes US sanctions against Turkish-backed group in Syria

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Thursday welcomed US sanctions announced the day before on a Turkish-backed militia in Syria for human rights violations against ethnic Kurds.

“We, the SDF, are welcoming these actions and considering them to be compatible with the calls of human rights organizations and the first step towards comprehensive accountability for all crimes committed by this militia and its leaders against the population in the north and eastern Syria and all other Syrian regions, including Idlib and Aleppo,” the SDF said in a statement.

On Wednesday, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it was sanctioning Ahrar al-Sharqiyah for abuses against civilians as well as two of the group’s leaders, Abu Hatim and his brother Abu Ja'far.

Read More: US sanctions Turkish-backed Syrian militia for human rights violations against Kurds

“Ahrar al-Sharqiya has committed numerous crimes against civilians, particularly Syrian Kurds, including unlawful killings, abductions, torture, and seizures of private property,” the US treasury said.

The Turkish-backed Islamist group first originated in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zor, where it was created by Abu Maria al-Qahtani after he split from Al Qaida’s infamous Nusra Front.

Its militants previously threatened, insulted, and ultimately drove out a small number of US special forces from the northern town of al-Rai in September 2016. It has also regularly fought against other Turkish-backed groups during skirmishes in territory under Ankara’s control.

In October 2019, Ahrar al-Sharqiya militiamen summarily executed female Kurdish politician Hevrin Khalaf on a roadside in October 2019 as part of Turkey’s cross-border offensive into northern Syria.

Read More: Senior female Kurdish political leader killed in ambush in Syria

Furthermore, the SDF on Thursday called on “the international community and human rights organizations to continue political and legal pressure on other similar organizations and their supporters regarding the crimes committed by them and call on them to provide redress for the victims especially in the occupied areas in northern Syria.”

Although recognizing the importance of US sanctions, the SDF said there was also a need for legal action against various Turkish-backed militias and that it was necessary to “gather more evidence and listen to the victims, and to initiate legal proceedings to bring the militia’s leaders and elements to the international tribunals.”

In addition to sanctions against the Ahrar Sharqiya group and its commanders, the US also sanctioned eight Syrian prisons run by the Damascus’ intelligence apparatus and five senior security officials from other agencies who control the detention facilities named.

Additionally, the US imposed sanctions on Saraya al-Areen, a militia affiliated with the Syrian Arab Army active in the Idlib area.

In a separate statement on Wednesday, the US also designated two Al Qaida supporters, one in Turkey and one based in Syria.

Editing by John J. Catherine