afrinpost
Militants of the Turkish-backed “Al-Waqqas” militia launched a major kidnapping campaign on Wednesday, May 26, 2021, in the village of Hêkêçê, in Shiyê / Sheikh Al-Hadid sub-district, and kidnapped 11 Kurdish citizens from the village, most of them shepherds, because they confronted IDP shepherds who tried to graze their sheep in the villegers’ fields.
The kidnapped citizens, as documented by our correspondent, are: (Ali Safar, Muhammad Hanif Maho (Hamoda Hanif), Rifai Walid Maho, Muhammad Hadla, Shaaban Ramadan, Salah Muhammad Tana, Muhammad Ali Nabi, Sheikh Malati, Shukri Ibrahim, Yasser Saeed Ali, and Ali Farid Al-Ali), indicating that the militia severely beat them. Later, the kidnapped citizens were released, except for Ali Safar, as the militia kept him to pressure his brother “Ibrahim Safar Ali” to surrender, because he confronted the IDPs and then left the village for fear of revenge.
Concerning the reason for the attack and kidnapping, the reporter said that the people in the village of Hêkêçê prevented a number of IDP shepherds, who are brought in by Turkey, from grazing their cattle in the wheat fields, but the IDPs brought other shepherds to the field, and there were violent altercations between the villagers and the IDPs, after which the “Al-Waqqas” militia armed men intervened, attacked and kidnapped the Kurdish citizens, instead of resolving the dispute.
