Violation of the Turkish Occupation and its Mercenaries in Afrin, 1-31 August 2019

Report by Foreign Relations Department North and East Syria – The Turkish occupation and its mercenaries proceed with their savage and immoral actions in Afrin (kidnaping, killings, burning of trees and forests, taxes and demographic changes) thus violating all humanitarian and international laws and covenants.

During August, several violations committed by the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries against the people of Afrin were documented. They are kidnapping civilians and demand ransom from their families for their release. In addition, the kidnapped is threatened with death if he refuses to pay the ransom. The Turkish occupation and its mercenary also carry out demographic changes and Turkification against the population and occasionally sets fire to trees, forests and agricultural crops.

We will highlight in this file the most prominent documented violations from August 1st, to 31st, 2019. They are as follows:

Kidnapping and Ransom:

• On August 1st, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation kidnapped the civilian “Shiar Fadel Khalil” from the village of “Bermejah” in Mobata district.
• On August 3rd, 2019, “military police” of the Turkish occupation launched a campaign to kidnap Kurdish young men after issuing temporary Turkish identities. Then, the young men were taken to recruitment centers to join the ranks of mercenaries. The people who taken for recruitment were aged between 18 and 40, theyare:- The brothers “Esmat Walid Na’so” and “Shiar Walid Na’so” from “Mirkan” village in Mobata district.- Taher Manan Hamo- Samir Abdo Abdo- Hussein Hamid Jafar- Mohamed Ahmed- Mohamed Mahmoud Jaafar
• On August 4th, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation kidnapped three civilians from the village of “Baadino” in Mobata district. They are:- Hussein Mustafa Moussa- Mohamed Mohamed Hebbo- Habash Mohammed Habbo
• On August 5th, 2019, the so-called “Suqur al-Jabal” of the Turkish occupation raided a village in Shara and kidnapped the civilian “Recep Mustafa”, aged 35 years.
• On August 8th, 2019, the so-called civil police of the Turkish occupation raided “Fererya” village in Jendrissa district and kidnapped four civilians from the village, they are:- Omar Abdo Hussein- Heider Al-Amo- Muhannad Mohammad Huseida- Mahmoud Hussein Obaid
• On August 10th, 2019, the mercenaries of “Al-Hamzat” kidnapped the civilian “Fouad Ali” from Sharqia village in Bulbula district, and demanded a sum of 50 million Syrian pounds in return for his release.It is noteworthy that the civilian “Fouad” was kidnapped a year ago by the mercenaries themselves and was released at the time for 25 million Syrian pounds.
• The village of “Sheikh Bilal” in Raju district was subjected to a kidnaping campaign, some of them are:- Mohamed Ahmed, 50-year-old- Shukri Ahmed, 75-year-old- Mohamed Ahmed, 32-year-old

Killing and Torture:

• On August 1st, 2019, the Turkish mercenaries killed 25-year-old “Khalil Suri Oso” by a sniper on the road between the villages of “Kalutah” and “Burj al￾Qas” in Shirawa. His relatives were unable to bury him because of snipers.
• On August 4th, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation assaulted the civilian, “Munir Refaat Hamo,” 45-year-old, from “Alka” village in Shara district. The beating caused severe fractures in his leg. It is worth mentioning that the civilian “Munir ” is a man with special needs.
• On August 5th, 2019, the Turkish occupation shelled the villages of Shirawa (Burj Al-Qas / Gondi Mazen / Kalouta). As a result of the intense shelling, a civilian “Munther”, was killed and three civilians were wounded:- Rashid Mohammed Nasser / injury to the left leg.- Shahida Ahmed / injuries to the hand.- Abu Ali from the village of Basouta.
• On August 9th, 2019, the Turkish occupation renewed its shelling of the villages of Shirawa, which resulted in the injury of:- The child, Mervan Barakat- Ramzi Mahmoud Barakat- Kibar Barakat Barakat- Suzan Aliko
• On August 17th, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation kidnapped civilians from the village of “Naza” in Shara district, and they are:- Mohamed Abdo Alou, 50 years old.- Mohamed Zakaria Tamer, 47 years old.
• On August 17th, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation raided several villages in Bulbula and kidnapped a number of civilians.
• On August 19th, 2019, the civilian “Hussein Hamo” from “Jaqla” village in Shiah district died under brutal beatings and torture by the mercenaries of “Al-Hamzat” of the Turkish occupation, after he was kidnapped for a year.
• In the village of “Kastal Khodarya”, 4 civilians were kidnapped. The mercenaries demanded 800 thousand Syrian pounds for their release. They are:- Sabri Ibish, Abdullah Hanan,- Khabat Hanan,- Farid Rasho
• In the village of “Karah”, the civilian “Basil Hanan Ibish” was kidnapped on charges of joining the ranks of the former Self-Defense duty, and demanded to pay 200 thousand Syrian pounds for his release.It is noteworthy that the civilian “Basil” was kidnapped months ago and paid the amount of 150 thousand Syrian pounds until the mercenaries released him.
• In the village of “Abidana”, 3 civilians were abducted:- Alan Ali Ibrahim,- Muhammed Ali Ibrahim,- Shiro Ahmed Ibrahim
• In the village of “Hayama”, “Akid Mohammed Ahmed” was kidnapped.
• On August 18th, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation kidnapped 4 civilians from the village of “Omara” in Shara district:- Ramadan Hosseinou,- Nuri Ali Houri,- Muhammed Ahmed Dado,- Kawa Omar Ibo
• In “Jaqli” village in Jendrisa district, a civilan called “Mustafa Aslan Abdo”was kidnapped.
• On August 20th, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation kidnapped 4 civilians from the village of Quta in Bulbula district. Three of them are:- Abdelkader Seydo, – Bashir Mohammed Seydo, – The Wife of Bashir Mohamed Seydo
• On August 21st, 2019, the Turkish occupation mercenaries kidnapped 5 civilians from “Kuliku” village in Mobata District, they are:- Mohamed Ali Hamou, – Luqman Mohammed Hamo, – Rifai Hikmat Hamo, – Hassan Rashad Hamo, – Fawzi Abdel Qader Hamou
• On August 22nd, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation kidnapped the civilian “Mohammed Ahmed Khidr” from “Basuta” village in Shirawa district. It is noteworthy that the civilian is a member of the party “ENKS”, a supporter of the so-called Free Army.
• On August 23rd, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation kidnapped the civilian “Hanan Amin Ibo” from his house located on the road to the village of Basuta.
• On August 25th, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation killed “Mohieddin Osu”, 70 years old, from the village of “Qutma” in Shara district, after the mercenaries raided his house in the neighborhood of Ashrafieh in order to steal, the mercenaries strangled him to death after “Osu” showed resistance.
• On August 31st, 2019, the Turkish occupation arrested one of its agents in Afrin called “Salah” from the village of “Deir Sawan” in Shara district.It is noteworthy that the agent “Salah” led to the abduction of many Kurdish civilians, in addition to his frequent harassment of the people. According to the Afrin Activists Network that unknown mercenaries have arrested him with three other members of the terrorist group ISIS.

Setting fires and Cutting Trees

• On August 3rd, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation cut down forest trees in Mobata district in order to benefit from them and sell them in Turkish markets, which in turn puts the geography of the region at great risk.
• On August 15th, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation cut down trees in the village of “Ruta” in Mobata district.

Footage documenting cutting of trees in the village of Ruta

• On August 17th, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation cut down 300 trees in the village of “Hayat” in Mobata district. The trees are the property of “Mohammed Hanif Seydo”.
• On August 17th, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation cut down olive trees over the age of 70 years in each of the following areas:”Mobata, Shara, Jandrisa, Raju” Some of the civilians whose trees have been cut down are:- Jafar Mustafa- Fathi Judy Ali- Ismat Jaafar

Cutting Trees in Mobata district

• On August 4th, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation set fire to olive trees located in Shara district. These trees are more than 60 years old.
• On August 5th, 2019, the mercenaries of “the 3rd Brigade and Brigade 112″of the Turkish occupation burned more than 1,000 olive trees in Mobata district, in addition to cutting more than 5,000 trees in “Khaziana” village in Mobata district.

Demographic Change

• On August 2nd, 2019, the Turkish occupation in the village of “Mesh’ala” in Shara district demolished the homes of civilians and shops going back to the French era, to build instead schools for the Muslim Brotherhood and associations of Sharia.
  Among the civilians whose house was destroyed was “Zaki Ibrahim”, where the mercenaries are scheduled to build an association under the name “Sharia School in Mesh’ala ” after the first association was opened in the house of the father of the martyr “Asaad”.
• On August 18th, 2019, the Turkish occupation built a mosque in the village of “Avraz” in Mobata district, in order to open a religious course on the method of Naqshbandi.The occupation entrusted the task of teaching the course to two individuals:”Abdulmutallab Mohiuddin Sheikh Naasan” and “Zahruddin Mohammed Noor Hamo”.
• On August 21st, 2019, the Turkish occupation brought several heavy machineries to destroy the houses of civilians in the village of “Bilelko” in Raju district under the pretext of opening the road, but the main reason is the displacement of people and establishing a headquarters for the Turkish tanks. The demolished houses are the property of the Habash family.

Demolishing houses in Bulbula district

• On August 21st, 2019, the Turkish occupation resettled thousands of families of mercenaries coming from Idlib in Afrin, especially in Shara.The villages in which mercenary families were settled are as follows:
• The village of “Mersawa” has been resettled with (1800) people.
• The villages of “Mariamin – Kafr Mezze” were resettled with large numbers in both villages, we did not receive accurate statistics of their numbers.
• On August 25th, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation resettled their families in the villages of “Haftaru, Za’arah, Obaidan and Kurdo” in Bulbula district.Mercenaries of “Faylaq Al-Sham” resettled their families in the villages of Jendrisa district “Qiyla”, in addition to the establishment of a camp in the village of “Mohammedia.”

Imposing Taxes

• On August 10th, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation, with the approach of Eid al-Adha, imposed a financial tax on the villages of “Qazlbash and Bileh” in Bulbula district. The mercenaries imposed on each family to pay a sum of 200 USD.

Stealing, Looting and Appropriation

• On August 21st, 2019, the Turkish occupation excavated digged in the archaeological hill of “Jernas” located in the village of “Sinara” in Shiah district, with the aim of looting and transporting antiquities to Turkey within the framework of erasing the historical and cultural identity of Afrin.
• On August 24th, 2019, the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation dug the hill of “Alka” village in Shara district, in order to loot and steal antiquities.