During their attacks on North-East Syrian region, the jihadist alliance ‘Syrian National Army’ (SNA) took people from the Kurdish neighborhoods of Aleppo hostage and deported them to the Turkish occupation zone. It is still unclear how many hostages are currently in the hands of terrorists. Women who are members of the Hêzên Parastina Civakî (HPC) and are involved in civil resistance in Sheikh Maksud and Ashrafia are among the victims of kidnapping.

The General Command of the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) released a statement calling for action to expose the brutality of the Turkish occupation state and its mercenaries on a global scale, revealing the extent of their terrorism and holding Erdoğan and the Turkish occupation state accountable for this war and the atrocities committed against the captured young women.

The YPJ statement calling on international women's and human rights organisations to stand up for the hostages includes the following:.

“Over the past several days, our region, along with all of the Syrian territory, has been subjected to a large-scale attack from multiple fronts. It began in Aleppo, where the Syrian people were left face to face with horrific massacres. Simultaneously, these attacks targeted our areas in North and East Syria, where we have demonstrated relentless resistance against these extensive assaults, particularly in the regions of Shehba and Aleppo. Our people, led by women, have shown great resilience in the face of these attacks.

Our people in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, who have gained extensive experience in resistance and warfare over the years, have once again organized themselves against these assaults. Operating under the name of the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh Protection Forces, they have thwarted dozens of attacks by mercenaries of the Turkish occupation state.

Undoubtedly, the war continues on multiple fronts. Unfortunately, several young men and women of the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh Liberation Forces have fallen captive to these mercenaries. These barbaric mercenaries, who have no regard for the ethics or laws of war, have heinously violated the dignity of the women prisoners, using them as tools for propaganda on their media outlets. They have shamelessly declared to the captive women that they would once again sell them in slave markets. Such actions are utterly inhumane and must not be tolerated.

As the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), we strongly condemn the brutal acts of the Turkish occupation mercenaries against the captured women and pledge that we will avenge them. We call upon international organizations, particularly Amnesty International and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), as well as all women’s and human rights organizations, to fulfill their duties in protecting these women who defended their neighborhoods and cities. We insist on the necessity of safeguarding their rights as prisoners of war.

The atrocities committed today by the Turkish occupation mercenaries against the captured young women mirror those carried out by the terrorist organization “ISIS” in 2014 in Sinjar, Mosul, and Raqqa, where thousands of women were sold in slave markets. These actions represent the patriarchal mindset that reached its peak with “ISIS” and Erdoğan’s mercenaries. They are well aware that Kurdish women have written heroic epics against their barbaric practices, resisting to the very end. This is why their inhumane practices have escalated to the level of outright hostility against women.

We direct our call to women’s rights organizations, civil society organizations, prominent figures, freedom advocates, and democrats to protect the captive women. It is imperative to expose the brutality of the Turkish occupation state and its mercenaries on a global scale, revealing the extent of their terrorism and holding Erdoğan and the Turkish occupation state accountable for this war and the atrocities committed against the captured young women.

As the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), we once again condemn the captivity of the female fighters from the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh Protection Forces. We affirm that we will hold the Turkish occupation state and its mercenaries accountable on the frontlines of resistance. In this context, during these historic days marked by extensive attacks on our regions and Syria as a whole, we declare that we stand on the frontlines to protect all women and our people. We also call upon all young women, wherever they may be, to join the ranks of the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) and take their place on the frontlines of defense. Only in this way can we protect our land and dignity.”