At least 4 people killed and 40 abducted in Afrin in July
The occupation forces killed at least 4 people and abducted more than 40 people in Afrin region in July.
The Syria-Afrin Human Rights Organisation reported that the Turkish state forces and allied gangs killed 4 people, including two women, in Afrin in July.
According to the balance sheet, 3 people were wounded and 3 other people, including a woman, were subjected to torture.
In addition, at least 40 people, including 2 children, were abducted.
The organisation stated that the occupiers extorted money from 2 people under different pretexts and set fire to a house on the allegation of theft.
Looting, extortion and plunder also continued in July. The report stated that more than 1,900 trees were cut down and 572 hectares of forest area was burnt.
Afrin occupied since 2018
Afrin Canton was the westernmost canton of Rojava and North and East Syria, home to 200,000 ethnic Kurds. Though the population was overwhelmingly Kurdish, it was home to diverse religious groups including Yazidis, Alawites and Christians alongside Sunni Muslims.
On 20 January 2018, Turkey launched air strikes on 100 locations in Afrin, as the onset of an invasion they dubbed ‘Operation Olive Branch.’
The Turkish Air Force indiscriminately shelled civilians as well as YPG/YPJ positions, while a ground assault was carried out by factions and militias organised under the umbrella of the Turkish-backed National Army.
By 15 March, Turkish-backed militias had encircled Afrin city and placed it under artillery bombardment. A Turkish airstrike struck the city’s only functioning hospital, killing 16 civilians.
Civilians fled and the SDF retreated, and by 18 March Turkey was in de facto occupation of Afrin. Between 400 and 500 civilians died in the invasion, overwhelmingly as a result of Turkish bombing. Other civilians were summarily executed in the field.
Prior to the Turkish invasion, Afrin had been one of the most peaceful and secure parts of Syria, virtually never seeing combat during the civil war but occasional skirmishes between YPG/YPJ and jihadist forces on its borders. As a result, Afrin offered peaceful sanctuary to over 300,000 internally displaced people from elsewhere in Syria.
