Northwest Syria. Fertile Arena for Abuses by Pro-Turkish Factions
In the absence of security and the spread of chaos and lawlessness, the areas under the control of armed factions in northwestern Syria continue to suffer from many humanitarian violations as well as murders, kidnappings and arbitrary arrests in the northern countryside of Aleppo.
In this report, we will shed light on many of the violations that occurred recently between September 20 and the end of October of this year2023, which were carried out by the factions affiliated with the “National Army” loyal to the Turkish occupation in the areas of northern Syria .
Approximately 25 people were arrested and kidnapped in the Afrin area and its suburbs, which are controlled by the “Hamzat” and “Amshat” factions.
12 people were also kidnapped anonymously, but the fingers of accusation revolve around the aforementioned factions, according to what one of the families of the kidnapped told us, where R.H. (47 years old) stated, “My only son was deported from Turkey a month and a half ago and was kidnapped about a month ago, and only the actual controller of the region is accused, because these factions carry in their history an archive of kidnapping and material and sexual extortion .”
Since the Turkish forces and the factions of the “National Army” loyal to them began occupying these areas, the series of humanitarian crises, violations and lawlessness has worsened, as there is no day without targeting, bombing, arrest, kidnapping and many other incidents.
In addition to what has been mentioned, it has been documented that 9 civilians who showed signs of torture were killed in the detention canters of the “National Army” between the fifth of September and the seventeenth of October.
During August 2023, there were 19 cases of arbitrary arrest, including a woman, in the city of Al-Bab and Jarablus, which are under the control of the so-called “Army of Islam” and the “Levant Front”, both of which belong to the Third Corps within the factions of the so-called “National Army”.
The situation of the areas of Azaz and Marea in the northern countryside of Aleppo is no better than the areas of Afrin, where violations and methods of torture and detention are practiced continuously, such as the body that was found of a man killed on a dirt road between the city of Sajo and Azaz in the northern countryside of Aleppo, where the appearance of signs of torture and murder to death in mysterious circumstances as a result of security chaos.
It cannot be said that this is a fabrication in a previous report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria.
There were many documents that show the extent of the terrible violations practiced by the “National Army” against civilians in the areas under its control, such as arbitrary detention and others, and a lengthy report of the Commission of Inquiry stated that “the National Army
practiced more violations against the people of the areas under its control”,
where the UN Commission of Inquiry was informed that a number of members of the “National Army” are accused of charges related to torture, murder, rape and seizure of property between 2018 and 2022, within the scope of ensuring accountability.
These factions arrested people between one month to three years and sometimes transferred them to Turkey without a proven charge or giving their families any information about their condition, and even threatened and arrested families who sometimes tried to access any information related to the detainee.
Control of the property of the people of the area can sometimes amount to looting and killing.
There is no area in the northwest of the country that has not recorded many incidents and violations against civilians or media activists.
For example, anyone who opposes the Turkish occupation policy or the violations of the factions is arrested, even if it is limited to a post on his personal account on Facebook, where the media activist Hamed Al-Ali, from the city of Jarablus recently, was arrested by the intelligence division of the “National Army” and taken to the military police in the city, until he was released after several hours of detention with the same thing repeated in the areas of others are under the control of the National Army.
It was also noted that security elements were deployed even within conversations and groups of activists on WhatsApp, such as a special coordination in the city of Al-Bab to organize demonstrations and condemn the Turkish intervention and put several media figures in the circle of accountability and accusation.
Security breaches during the current year have also caused the death of many civilians and the injury of hundreds, including children and women, in addition to the destruction of public and private property, as from time to time the region witnesses security tension resulting either from factional fighting among themselves or with the aim of narrowing down on the population of the region, as the areas of northwestern Syria have turned into a scene of repeated violations against civilians.
Tim Al-Ahmad / Northwest Syria.
