Turkish-backed forces arrested 22 in Syria’s Afrin in July: Rights group

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Turkish-backed groups in Syria’s Kurdish-majority region of Afrin arrested at least 22 individuals in July 2021, said a report by the human rights organization Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ) on Thursday.

STJ “documented the arrests of at least 22 people, including a child and a woman, by members of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) in July 2021,” the report said.

“Only two of the detainees were released,” the STJ added. The fate of the others, among them a child, remained unknown as of August 2, the organization explained.

Turkish-backed factions have controlled Afrin since March 2018, when the Turkish army launched a cross-border offensive to target the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which controlled the area from 2012 till then. The operation killed scores of civilians and forced thousands of Kurds to flee their homes.

Many of the displaced civilians have been residing in displacement camps in northern Aleppo, with some attempting to return, amid reports of widespread abuse by Ankara-allied militias that have overrun the region.

Turkish forces recently detained dozens of people returning to Afrin from the camps. They released 35 families on August 8, the ARK news website reported Wednesday.

In an interview with ANHA, the exiled Co-chair of the Legislative Council in Afrin, Sulaiman Jafar, called on Kurds not to return to Afrin without guarantees of a safe return.

Afrin has been plagued by regular attacks on Turkish-backed forces and indiscriminate bombings that have also killed civilians.

The area sees frequent infighting between rival factions that also lead to civilian deaths.

Human rights organizations have accused Turkish-backed groups operating in the area of committing war crimes, including intentional ethnic cleansing, kidnapping for ransom, and gender-based violence.

Read More: UN report suggests Turkish-backed groups commit war crimes in Afrin

In a January report covering 2020, Human Rights Watch said that Turkey and Turkish-backed groups have indiscriminately shelled civilian structures and systematically pillaged private property, arrested hundreds of individuals, and carried out at least seven summary executions in areas they occupy in north-east Syria.

According to the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, Turkish-backed forces have also committed sexual violence against women and men in territories under their control, including at least 30 incidents of rape, the HRW report said.