Crimes Escalate in Afrin as Kurdish Civilians Killed Amid Ongoing Looting and Lawlessness
Unknown assailants killed two Kurdish civilians in Syria's Kurdish Afrin region, amid systematic looting of olive harvests. Local sources report the region's Economic Committee and factions exploit bureaucratic measures to seize Kurdish-owned crops and property.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The Afrin region in northwest Syria (Western Kurdistan) is witnessing a renewed wave of violence and theft targeting Kurdish civilians and their livelihoods. Two Kurdish residents were killed this week in separate incidents, as looting of olive crops continued across several villages, it’s known that Afrin is the only Kurdish region under the control of the Interim Syrian Government.
According to local sources, on Thursday, an unidentified armed group shot and killed Mohammed Ahmed Derwish, known as Ehmedê Dushi, a 55-year-old Kurdish civilian from the village of Birc Ebdalo in the Sherawa district of Afrin. Derwish, was killed while working in his field, and there are no official reports about the killer's identity.
In a separate incident on Wednesday evening, Shukri Ahmed Oso, a 73-year-old Kurdish farmer from Keferzite village in the Jindires district of Afrin, was fatally shot while driving his tractor. Sources told Kurdistan24 that, he was shot by six bullets.
These killings come amid an alarming surge of violence and lawlessness in Afrin, where intimidation, extortion, and targeted attacks against Kurdish civilians have become increasingly common since the region’s occupation by factions of the Syrian National Army (SNA) that dissolved themselves and now they are affiliated with the transitional Syrian government.
Parallel to the rise in violence, widespread reports of olive crop theft have emerged, marking yet another chapter in the ongoing exploitation of Afrin’s agricultural wealth.
According to sources from Hasandera village in the Bilbil district of Afrin, a former commander of the Hamzat faction, one of the SNA’s Factions, identified as Juma Hemsho (Abu Juma), along with another individual, reportedly seized olive harvests belonging to nine Kurdish landowners, all of whom possessed official ownership documents.
A similar incident occurred the previous night in Kotana village of the same district, where the olive harvests of six Kurdish villagers were stolen. Local sources confirmed that during the theft, numerous olive trees were damaged or cut down, resulting in extensive agricultural loss.
A video obtained by Kurdistan24 on Friday, shows thieves stealing the fruit of more than 40 olive trees in Kotana village. Residents told Kurdistan24 that looting has persisted for days without intervention from local authorities.
“We have been organizing nightly volunteer patrols to protect our lands,” one villager said, “but the thieves continue their work without fear. People are frustrated and angry at the total absence of security measures.”
At the center of Afrin’s ongoing turmoil lies the Economic Committee, an administrative body formed under the transitional government’s authority. While it claims to regulate agricultural and property issues, it has faced widespread accusations of corruption and complicity in the systematic appropriation of Kurdish-owned lands and crops.
Local residents and rights organizations describe the committee as a tool used by the ruling factions to exert economic control and legitimize the looting of Kurdish property under the guise of bureaucratic procedures.
In a statement to Kurdistan24, Ahmed Hassan, Head of the Kurdish National Council in Afrin, said:
“The situation in Afrin remains under the control of remnants of the armed factions. The Economic Committee imposes taxes and royalties on people, seizes half the olive harvest, and demands impossible documents to prove ownership. As the harvest season begins, threats against farmers increase.”
He added:
“In Afrin, the committee has turned into a tool of pressure and extortion. People are trapped between its bureaucracy and the factions’ weapons. Thefts happen daily, and those who try to harvest their olives are either stopped or robbed.”
Leaked audio recordings obtained by Kurdistan24 from the mukhtar of Darkir village in the Mobatu district revealed further evidence of arbitrary restrictions. The mukhtar was heard saying:
“Those who returned after the fall must return their approval papers. A new order was issued — do not harvest your land. The papers will be collected.”
These recordings confirm that even residents with official documents are being prevented from harvesting their crops, as local mukhtars face pressure from armed groups not to issue permits.
An internal source from the Economic Committee told Kurdistan24 that “the settlers who obtained land from the factions are allowed to harvest freely, while transactions belonging to the original Kurdish owners are deliberately delayed or blocked.”
The killing of civilians, ongoing theft of olive harvests, and deep-rooted corruption within Afrin’s administrative system collectively reveal a systematic policy of dispossession and intimidation targeting the region’s Kurdish population.
As olive season — the lifeblood of Afrin’s economy — turns into a season of fear, residents are left confronting both armed violence and the slow erosion of their rights under an imposed system of lawlessness.
