afrinpost – Exclusive
Amid the deteriorating security situation and absence of the principles of law and accountability in all areas under the Turkish control in northern Syria, particularly in the region of Afrin, armed militants from the Islamist militias, such as the National Army and the Military and Civil Police, resort to using weapons against civilians in general, and Kurds in particular, to shed their blood, violate their rights, and confiscate their money through imposing levies and extortion.
In this context, a Turkish-backed armed militant robbed a civilian named “Mohammad Ali Dahdou” on Monday, April 4th, in broad daylight in Rajo Street in the center of Afrin city. The militant stole $1400 and 2000 Turkish Lira from him and then fled. The stolen amount was a remittance he had received from one of the exchange offices in the city.
In a related incident, an elderly Kurdish man named “Yahya Shukri Hamo” from the village of Iskan in Shirawa sub-district was attacked and brutally beaten on March 27, 2023, by militants from the Islamist militia “Faylaq al-Sham” after they learned that the elderly man had received a financial remittance of $300 sent to him by his son Shukri, who works in Lebanon.
The Afrin Human Rights Organization stated that the home of the elderly man, Yahya, was damaged during the earthquake that struck the area on February 6th, and he was sleeping in a tent next to his house. He fell ill due to the cold weather, and when the cold intensified in the evening, he asked his 55-year-old wife, Sultanah Barko, to help him stand on his feet so that he could go to the house to sleep there. Upon entering the house, he was surprised to find three armed militants from the “Faylaq al-Sham” militia, who control the village, rummaging through the contents of the house in search of money.
As a result, they attacked the elderly man, Yahya, and beat him brutally. His wife, Sultanah, tried to defend him, but they also beat her and broke her left hand, and attempted to strangle her by wrapping her in a blanket. However, her screams alerted the neighbors, and the militants fled the scene, leaving the elderly couple injured and traumatized as shown in the following video, which was taken at the same day:
