afrinpost– Exclusive
Kurdish citizens in the Afrin region of Syria are facing constant harassment and attacks by armed IDPs who are emboldened by their weapons, and the absence of any legal or ethical values. Even when the Kurdish citizens are attacked or their properties are damaged, they are condemned, and filing a complaint against the attackers can lead to punishment and persecution by the militia groups.
According local sources, there was a dispute between Samir Mohammed Ahmed, a resident of Şêxûtka village in Mobata/Maabatli district, and a member of the “Jaish al-Nukhba\ Elite Army” militia in the village, about ten days ago. As a result, the armed militant brought his weapon and fired several shots at Ahmed, but he was not hit, and instead, one of the IDPs present at the scene was injured.
In April, two elderly Kurdish men, Ma’mou Ma’mou and Yahya Shakri Hamo, died due to prolonged attacks by the Turkish-affiliated militias in Afrin. On April 15, two IDPs assaulted Abdou Mustafa, a 17-year-old orphan from the village of Şêtana in Mobata/Maabatli district, beating him on the head and stabbing him in the leg with a knife in al-Ashrafieh neighborhood of occupied Afrin. He was taken to the hospital, released the next day, and forced to drop the charges against the assailants.
In December 2022, IDPs loyal to Turkey assaulted 15-year-old Aref Shukri Suleiman, who was deported from Istanbul by Turkish authorities, demanding his home in occupied Afrin. He was beaten and expelled from the city.
These incidents highlight the dangerous situation faced by Kurdish citizens in Afrin and the urgent need for intervention by international human rights organizations to protect them from the ongoing assaults and violations of their rights.
