Members of the Turkish-backed mercenary groups “Al-Hamzat” and “Amshat”, which operate under the banner of the National Army, kidnapped a young man from Ali Bakko village in the Afrin countryside in northern Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported. Accordingly, the young man was on his way to Aleppo city via Deir Hafer road and was taken to an unknown destination.

According to the report, the young man had been residing in Iraq and had returned to his hometown for a visit.

“This incident is part of a series of violations targeting Kurdish families who have returned to their villages in Afrin countryside, where security forces carry out raid and arrest operations under the pretext of “status regularization,” a practice that has increasingly become a cover for systematic abuses, particularly against returnees and Kurds,” SOHR stated.

On June 9, SOHR reported that areas controlled by factions of the “Syrian National Army” in northern Syria experienced escalating security and administrative chaos in light of the increasing violations and deteriorating services: “This is attributed to the domination of various military formations which share influence in that region, where residents are struggling with unstable situation, which is manifested in indiscriminate arrests, violations against civilians and corruption.”

On the other hand, members of a patrol of general security forces stormed a wedding hall on the road to Azaz city on the third day of Eid al-Adha, arresting the bridegroom and his father during the wedding party in front of the attendants. The whereabouts of the men arrested on unknown charges remain unknown, while this incident has triggered a state of broad public discontent, SOHR said.

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.