A faction of the “National Army” severely beats a Kurdish family in Afrin and robs them of their money

Idlib – Ghaith Al-Abdullah

The opposition factions, which belong to the formation of the so-called Turkish-affiliated “Syrian National Army” continue their brutal attacks under false pretexts and arguments against the Kurdish population in the city of Afrin, which was occupied five years ago. Recently, the oldest members of the Sham Legion faction, which directly receives its orders from the Turkish intelligence service, at the end of February, assaulted an elderly man and his wife, who were from the Iskan village of Sherawa in the city’s countryside, before they were robbed of money and cellular devices they had in their possession.

This incident occurred at a time when the wounds did not heal in the center of the Jenderes district, which experienced a bloody night when it witnessed a horrific massacre that claimed the lives of four people from one family while they were celebrating the Nowruz flame on the night of the twentieth of last March at the hands of the armed factions. Subsequently, social media networks were abuzz with a leaked video clip of an elderly man named “Yahya Shukri Hamo” (65 years old) who is bedridden due to severe physical harm as a result of the brutal assault he was subjected to inside his house, accompanied by his wife, “Sultana Berko”, who also had a broken hand. This brutal crime was perpetrated by members of the Sham Legion faction in the Iskan village in the countryside of Afrin.

Journalist Shiyar Khalil confirmed in a statement to the “Target” Media platform, that “the elderly Abu Shukri and his wife, who is called the “Khajna” family, were severely beaten about a month ago when they entered their house, which was damaged by the devastating earthquake of February 6, by several opposition militants. He further explained that the gunmen were stationed inside the village and that the incident took place shortly after the family received a money transfer, sent to them by their son to use for their daily expenses, but the attackers stole from the family an amount of money amounting to three hundred US dollars, in addition to their cell phones that were in the possession of the man and the wife as well as other material purposes, after they abused them, according to Khalil.

It is worth noting that this is not the first time that Afrin and its countryside, occupied by Turkey and the Syrian armed factions loyal to it, have witnessed human violations and crimes against Kurdish civilians. In the past five years, independent local organizations and committees affiliated with human rights and international organizations have documented thousands of crimes committed by the dominant military actors, such as arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances, murder and torture, confiscation of property, and demographic change as well as the impairment of the return of inherent residents to their homes.

A source from the town of Raju, who preferred not to be named for security reasons, revealed in a statement to “Target” that “the Kurds in the villages and towns of the city of Afrin are subjected daily to the most heinous harassment and extortion from members of the armed factions, in addition to the military checkpoints, located at the entrances and exits of the villages. He further emphasized that these incidents increased significantly after the demonstrations that took place in Jenderes against the backdrop of the crime that shook the city a few days ago.

Against the backdrop of the assault on “Yahya Shukri Hamo,” the “Human Rights Organization in Afrin-Syria” issued a statement saying: “In light of the spread of lacking security and factional chaos in the Afrin region, an elderly Kurd and his wife were severely beaten by armed factions of the so-called „Syrian National Army“, affiliated with the Turkish occupation, after receiving a money transfer from their son. The residents of the areas that fall under the control of the factions of the so-called Syrian National Army, loyal to the Turkish occupation, which has become an undisputed Turkish sphere of influence, lack security and safety in light of Turkey’s failure as an (occupying) country to fulfill its legal duties under Article (43) of the Hague Regulations of 1907, given the violations and crimes committed daily by the armed factions against the inherent Kurdish population in full view of the Turkish occupation authorities without any accountability or monitoring. The continuity of these crimes has risen to war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic genocide has evolved into a pressing issue.

The information of the statement issued by the organization focused on the assault and burglary incident in which the elderly “Abu Shukri” had previously been subjected to a similar assault incident six months ago near his orchard at the hands of gunmen, belonging to the same faction when he was coming from the city of Afrin with the transferred money, where he was also beaten and robbed of his money in his garden.

At the end of the statement, “Human Rights in Afrin-Syria” appealed to international human rights and humanitarian organizations, to intervene quickly to put an end to these violations, and to put pressure on Turkey to assume its legal responsibilities in ensuring public order and public safety for the population. It was further demanded that special protection for women, children, the elderly, and the entire civilian population should be provided and guaranteed, in addition to the withdrawal of Turkish forces with the factions loyal to it from the regions of Afrin and Serêkaniyê and lastly, the assurance of the safe and voluntary return of the residents of Afrin and all Syrians under international protection, and the accountability of the perpetrators before international courts.