Afrinpost
The International Investigation Committee on Syria accused the Turkish occupation and the Islamic militias affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, which call themselves the “Syrian National Army / Free Army” of committing war crimes in the areas under their occupation, as in the occupied Kurdish region of Afrin, and the cities of “Serêkaniye” \ Ras Al-Ain and Gri Spi \ Tal Abyad.
In its report submitted to the Human Rights Council at its 45th session, the investigation committee said: “The commission has reasonable grounds to believe that so-called Syrian army fighters have repeatedly committed war crimes,” according to what the council stated on its website.
The report reviewed the militias concerned, namely: “the members of the 14th Division, the 142nd Brigade (Suleiman Shah Brigade), the 22nd Division (Hamza Brigade) and the 24th (Sultan Murad Brigade)”, and clarified that the crimes are “ looting in the Afrin and Ras al-Ain regions” in northern Syria, It is likely that the militias themselves “are also responsible for the war crime of destroying or seizing the property of an adversary.”
According to the committee, it also has reasonable grounds to believe that the aforementioned militias have committed war crimes of “taking hostages, cruel treatment, torture, and rape, which may amount to systematic torture,” and Turkish militias looted and destroyed cultural property, in flagrant violation of humanitarian law International.
The committee held Ankara responsible for ensuring public order and public safety, and providing special protection for women and children in areas under its control, and it drew on allegations that “Turkish forces were aware of incidents of looting and seizing civilian property.”
It emphasized that the Turkish forces “were present in the detention centers run by the Muslim Brotherhood militia militants (the Free Army), where ill-treatment of detainees was rampant, including during interrogation sessions when torture occurred.”
The committee pointed out that the transfer of Syrians detained by the militias to Turkish territory “may rise to the level of the war crime of unlawful deportation of protected persons,” and considered that the transfers and deportations are an additional indication of cooperation and joint operations between Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood militia, the Free Army.
The committee stressed that “if it is established that any members of armed groups are acting under the effective command and control of the Turkish forces, violations committed by these actors may entail criminal responsibility for those leaders who were aware of the crimes, should have known about them, or failed in taking all necessary and reasonable measures to prevent or suppress their commission.
In 2011, the United Nations established the International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, and charged it with investigating all human rights violations that have occurred and that have occurred in Syria since March of the same year. It is also concerned with identifying the circumstances in which human rights violations and crimes are committed, and identifying those responsible in preparation for them to hold them accountable internationally for these violations, and with all those details mentioned about the violations of the Turkish occupation in Afrin and the rest of the occupied areas in northern Syria, the most important question remains about the mechanisms of lifting the occupation and restoring the right to its people, that is, to the people of Afrin.
