Report reveals crimes committed by Turkish forces and mercenaries in Afrin in a week

The Afrin Activists Network announced the crimes the Turkish state and its mercenaries committed against the local people and nature in Afrin in one week.

The Afrin Activists Network released a report on the crimes of the Turkish state forces and allied mercenaries against the local people and nature between May 21 and May 30.

The report contains information on tortures, confiscations, fires, tree cuttings, tributes and massacres.

The report lists the crimes as follows:

-Torture: 3 citizens were tortured by armed groups and mercenary families.

-Kidnapping: 2 citizens were kidnapped by mercenaries.

-Confiscation: 4 vineyards were confiscated.

-Nature: 2 forest areas were burned.

-Tribute: Tradesmen were forced to pay tribute in 3 bazaar centers.

-Demographic change: People's houses are sold across the city.

- Bombardment: Shehba, Shera and Sherawa are bombed every day.

- Instability continues in the areas under Turkish occupation where numerous explosions have taken place.

Torture: So-called “military police” tortured a citizen named Emin Mihemed Henif Şêx Ebdi (40) in the Şêx village. Şêx Abdi was injured as a result of an attack by 20 "military police officers".

- On May 19, 2021, a citizen named Sherîf Hemîd Qenber (50) from the Gewanda village of Rajo, was attacked by 3 people since his wife did not allow the sheep belonging to the 'Faylaq Al-Sham' mercenaries to enter their field.

 On May 17, 2021, young people from Eltanya village of Rajo, did not allow the sheep herd of mercenary families' to graze in the fields of the village. A pro-'Faylaq Al-Sham' shepherd attacked 3 young people. According to the Afrin Human Rights Organization, three Kurdish young people named Gîvara, Arêf and Mistefa had to come to terms with the mercenaries under threat at a 'Faylaq Al-Sham' base.

Kidnapping: On May 27, 2021, 'Faylaq Al-Sham' mercenaries kidnapped citizens named Mistefa Osman (65) and Horo Ehmed (37) in Meydan Ekbez village of Rajo. Whereabouts of the two people who were forced to work with the mercenaries is unknown.

Confiscation: Gangs plundered 200 grape trees of citizens named Ebdurehmen Reşid and Henan Reşid in Metîna village near Meşela village in Şera district.

-Mercenary families plundered the vineyard of a citizen named Mihemed Şikri from the Rajo. The vineyard is close to the prison in district.

- Jabhat al-Shamiya' mercenary families plundered the vineyard of a citizen named Mistefa Xelîl in Mabata, near the village of Qenter.

-Members of the 'El-Emşat' group confiscated the field of Mistefa Hesen Îbiş, known as Çilo, in the village of Qermiliq in Şiyê district.

Tree cutting: On May 26, 2021 Semerqend Brigade affiliated with Turkish state set fire to trees near Hec Hesna village of Şiye. A large part of the forest area on Hec Hesna mountain was burned.

Tribute: Al-Hamzat militants led by a mob leader named Abdullah Helawa asked a tribute of 3 thousand dollars from the Yazidi citizens in the village of Birc Abdalo in Sherawa district.

Citizens who paid tribute are: Kanîwar Enewr Elo, Elî Ketlo, Hemîd Kilaho, Umer Delo Hesen. Mob leader Abdullah committed many crimes against the Kurds and oppressed them.

- Sultan Murat mercenaries led by Ferhan who is responsible for Xelîlak village in Bilbil district, are forcing citizens in the village to pay tribute 2,000 Syrian pound for every 40 cartons of vegetables taken into wholesale market hall in Afrin.

The mercenaries affiliated with Ehfad Al-Rasul, who control the village of Hesen in Bilbil district, force Kurdish youth to collect products and work for free. The mercenaries either beat those who refuse to do so or accuse them of being associated with the Autonomous Administration.

Demographic change: The Turkish state cooperated with the Arab and Kurdish merchants that stole the goods of citizens who had to immigrate from Afrin.

Furthermore, the Turkish state ordered these brokers to seize the properties of citizens who were not in the city by any means including threats if necessary. The Afrin citizens who migrated to Shehba, Aleppo and Europe said their relatives in Afrin had informed them about this issue and that they had contacted these brokers.

Events in Shehba: On May 25, 2021, the Turkish state and its mercenaries burned the fields in the village of Basilê. Since the village of Soxenek in the Sherawa district in the Afrin canton is under occupation, the fire spread to a wider area. The fire still could not be extinguished. Each year, the Turkish state sets fire to the fields in Shehba canton, Shera and Sherawa districts, which are close to the occupied areas.

On May 25, 2020, the Turkish state bombarded the vicinity of Tal Rifat town and the village of Bêloni. Citizens' possessions were damaged.

On May 27, 2021, the occupying Turkish state bombarded the villages close to the Tal Rifat road in Shehba Canton and the Birqas and Miyasê villages in Sherawa district. No information could be obtained regarding the damage there.

On May 29, 2021, the occupying Turkish state and its mercenaries bombarded the villages of Mişêrfe and Bendava Shehba in the Shehba Canton. No information could be obtained about the damage there.

Unrest in Turkish-occupied areas: On May 24, 2021, a bomb-laden motorcycle was detonated in the countryside of Cerbalus, east of Aleppo. 3 civilians lost their lives.

On May 15, 2021, a vehicle carrying bombs was detonated on the Şîn road in Afrin's Rajo district. Several people died and many others were injured as a result of the explosion.