التقرير الاسبوعي ـ عفرين تحت الاحتلال ـ160

مترجم إلى اللغة الانكليزية 

Afrin under occupation (160):

The village of “Qurt Qulaq” and the atmosphere of terror, the deliberate killing of a Kurdish citizen and another losing his life, arbitrary arrests, thefts in “Gamrokeh”, royalties

Although Turkey and the Syrian-Brotherhood Coalition claim the unification of most of the Syrian armed groups loyal to them within the framework of the so-called “Syrian National Army”, supervised by the Minister of Defense and the General Staff, they remain chaotic militias, professing mercenaryism and criminality, and they fight among themselves over the dispute over spheres of influence, loot and property seized; And it is they who wreak havoc on the earth, and Ankara does not cease to sow discord and impose operations of dismantling and installation among them, to ensure its loyalty and control over it completely, similar to what was recently called the “Azm operating room” and the tension that accompanied its formation.

The following is part of the violations and crimes committed in Afrin:

= “Qurt qulaq” village:

It belongs to Shara / Sharran district and is /9/km away from its center, and consists of about /200/ houses, in which there were /900/ original Kurdish residents and /100/ people of the Arab component.

All of them were displaced under the bombardment, and about 300 people returned to it, and the rest were forcibly displaced, and /110 families = 650 people/ from recruiters were resettled there.

During the war and the bombing, about /20/ houses were completely destroyed, including for “Murad Juma’a Haj Murad, Muhammad Haj Murad, Manan Haj Murad, Haji Murad Jamal Murad, Ahmad Haj Murad, Abd al-Rahman Jamal Miqdad, Murad Muhammad Musho, Ali Muhammad Musho, Jamal Haj Murad, Hamid Shabab Musho, Farid Hamid Shabab, Akram Taher, Taher Ibrahim, Muhammad Ibrahim, Ibish Barakat, Hanan Ali Shabab, Muhammad Sheikh Ahmed, Luqman Sheikh Ahmed, Walid Muslim son of Ahmed”, and / 3 / houses in were partially destroyed.

The olive press belonging to the citizen “Ahmed Haj Murad” was destroyed and some of its machines were stolen, but he reconstructed and operated it again.

Likewise, the citizens of the village: Luqman Mursal son of Muhammad and his daughter, Saeed Muhammad son of Habib (50 years), were martyred during the bombing of the city of Afrin on March 15, 2018, their bodies were buried at the time in a new cemetery in the middle of it, from which the occupation authorities recovered in mid-July the remains of 71 combatant and civilian martyrs, claiming that it was a “mass grave”.

During the invasion of the village on March 10, 2018, the militias of the “Sultan Murad Division” stole most of the contents of the houses, including supplies, furniture, copper tools, electrical power supplies and others, and / 20 / cars, tractors, and agricultural machinery, most of which were recovered after their owners paid royalties; Cables and some poles of the electricity and public landline networks were also stolen, and a part of the olive presses belonging to “Hajj Ahmed Murad”, who recovered them from the thieves after paying large sums of money.

It made a camp in the former forestry center east of the village, and in the house of the citizen “Walid Muslim son of Ahmed” a military headquarters.

A fee of 30%/ is imposed on the production of seasons for absentee properties, and 10%/ on the production of seasons of absentee properties.

The forests located between the village and the village of “Kurtekeh” in the east, which were planted in 1980 and have an estimated area of 650 hectares, have been subjected to the extermination of more than 50% of their trees, due to the continuous over-cutting for woodcutting, and their exposure to some fires.

The militias also unjustly cut down about 400 olive trees belonging to “Faeq Abdo” and uprooted 100 others belonging to “Juma’a Ali Barakat, Yasser Hajj Murad and his brothers” in August 2019. They also cut down perennial oak trees in the Islamic shrine of “Abdul Qadir Kilani” to the south of the village, they vandalized and exhumed his tomb, and dug a hill near the train station and some locations in the vicinity of the village, searching for and stealing antiquities and buried treasures, in addition to vandalizing the tombstones of some of the village graves.

The residents of the village were subjected to various violations and crimes, including arrest, kidnapping, torture, material extortion and others, during the past three and a half years of occupation, about half of the remaining indigenous residents were arrested and tortured, and fines and ransoms were imposed on them, on charges of relationship with the former Autonomous Administration; since the 11th of August, and by fabricating the accusation of killing one of the recruits seven months ago against citizens of the village, the “Military Police – Afrin” militias, under the supervision of Turkish intelligence and in cooperation with the “Sultan Murad Division” militias, arrested more than twenty citizens, including women, where they released some and arrested them again, and the following are still in detention, and their fate is unknown: 

“Khalil Arif Manla, the village’s mayor, Muhammad Sheikh Ahmed son of Ahmed, Adnan Sheikh Ahmed son of Ahmed, his wife Fatima and his two sons, Adnan Barakat son of Barakat, Akeed Musho son of Mohammed, Abd Manan Musho, Joan Abdo son of Hanan.

in addition, “Faisal Aref Omar” was arrested on Wednesday evening, 25/8/2021 AD; The village is currently in an atmosphere of terror, as no one dares to leave his house except for necessity, or to communicate with the outside and talk about what is going on, under strict supervision, for fear of being randomly arrested, beaten, and his cell phone searched.

Also, the former mayor, “Ayat Muhammad Omar”, fled the village after a year of occupation, due to the intense pressure exerted on him, so the militia leader in the village took over his house, which consisted of a modern house and shops.

On the other hand, and in the context of the militant religious movement active in the region, the people were forced to attend the mosque and fully adhere to prayer and fasting, in addition to opening an institute for memorizing the Qur’an.

As for the neighboring village of “Qurt Qulaq al-Saghir”, consisting of /30/ houses, most of its original inhabitants remained, and like its neighbor, it was subjected to various thefts and violations.

= Intentional killing of a Kurdish citizen and another losing his life by the explosion of a landmine:

– At dawn on Sunday, August 22, 2021 AD, the citizen “Radwan Abdel Rahim Hanan / 50 years” left his home in the village of “Gundê Mezin” – Afrin with his agricultural tractor, with the intention of cultivating an olive field for him located on the road leading to the neighboring village “Dargereh”, he did not return to the evening, so his family rushed to search for him, only to find the tractor stopped, and his body lying on the ground, dead and handcuffed, bearing signs of torture and several bullet wounds. His body was buried the next day, amid the grief and sorrow of the people, and their condemnation of this horrific crime.

The martyr “Radwan” is from a well-off family. After the militias invaded the area, many of their properties were seized, including the “Azhar Afrin” private school, which the Turkish forces had taken as a military headquarters downtown, and three townhouses/villas in the village; Which was left by the so-called “Moataz Al-Abdullah, commander of the Al-Ghab Battalion – Al-Hamzat” with his armed group on 29/7/2021 AD, following the decision to relieve him of his duties by the “Al-Hamzat Division Command” who expelled him by military force, and who tried to steal the furniture and contents of those  houses, but the victim – who was residing in the city and was unable to restore his houses previously – came to the village and objected to the theft and prevented it, after which he received many threats, until he was deliberately killed.

– On Thursday morning, August 26, 2021 AD, the young man “Ali Muhammad Hamarsho / 20 / year” lost his life as a result of the explosion of a landmine, as he was forcibly displaced from his village “Brad” – Mount Laylon / Sherawa and residing in the village of “Kalouta” – Shirwa, located below Syrian army control.

= Arbitrary arrests:

– On 1/8/2021 AD, the citizen “Mohammed Sheikho son of Jamil / 31 / year old” from the town of Shiye / Sheikh Al-Hadid, was arrested by an armed checkpoint of the pro-Turkish militias, when his cell phone was searched and the preliminary investigation with him, and it was found that after he moved from Aleppo to Manbij and his entry into the areas controlled by that militia by smuggling and paying sums of money to ensure his return to his town in Afrin and to stand by his sick father, as he had kept his family in Aleppo; He was taken to Al-Ra’i prison, and his fate is still unknown.

– On 08/18/2021 AD, the citizen “Mohammed Hussein Sheikho / 56 years” was arrested by the armed checkpoint near the Azaz Junction Bridge, on charges of having ties with the former Autonomous Administration, and his fate is still unknown.

– On Sunday, 08/22/2021 AD, the young woman, “Heaven Abedin Gharibo,” 20 years old, was arrested, and the next day, the citizen “Lina Zakaria Ibish, 22,” from the town of Baadina, was arrested by the “military police in Raju”, the first was released a day later and a fine of two thousand Turkish liras was imposed on her, and the second was taken to Marateh prison in Afrin.

– On 24/8/2021 AD, these citizens were arrested: Imad Ahmed Babo, 35 years old, Farouk Hanan Kosra, 65 years old, from the village of “Shekhutka” and Mustafa Mahmoud Mustafa, 46 years old, from the neighboring village of “Amara”, by the „Police – militia” in “Mabata / Maabatli” in cooperation with the “Elite Army”, and each one is required to pay a fine of 1,500 Turkish liras in exchange for his release.

– On 08/24/2021 AD, the young man, “Mohammed Rashid Murad son of Waqfi” from the town of “Kafar Safra”, was arrested two days after his return to the city of Jenderes from Aleppo, where his temporary location was cordoned off at night by an armed group, and his fate is still unknown.

= sporadic violations:

Since the beginning of this August, there have been numerous cases – no less than twenty – theft of shops and homes for Kurdish citizens in the village of “Gamrukeh” – Mabata / Maabtali, which is controlled by the militias of the “Suqur Al-Shamal Brigade” and its leader, Ahmed Ghwayan (Abu Abdo). Where the following was stolen: Copper pots and cell phones, among them is what is worth of (5 million, 4 million, and 3 million) for three citizens, so men do not dare to sleep at night in order to guard their homes.

– On Thursday evening, August 26, 2021 AD, and in front of his house, the child “Marwan Ali Marwan/3 years” was wounded in the village of “Burj Al-Qas”-Shirawa, which is under the control of the Syrian army, with a bullet fired by the Turkish occupation militias from the opposite side of the village on the contact lines in Mount Lilon He was treated in a hospital in the town of Al-Zahraa, and he underwent surgery, to stabilize his health.

– The militias of the “Syrian Front” that control the village of “Turendeh” – Afrin, impose a tax of 60,000 Syrian pounds on each hectare of land next to the irrigation canals of the Maidanki Dam for each time of watering.

– The armed barrier of the “Sultan Murad Division” militia near the village of “Aster” imposes a fee of 10 Turkish liras on every car passing towards the Afrin River.

– On 08/26/2021 AD, a group of recruits in the village of “Joqeh” – Afrin severely beat the citizen “Laila Haj Mahmoud – the widow of the late Khaled Sheikho” and her son, because of her demand that they leave her house that had been seized for nearly three and a half years, and despite all her previous complaints, but to no avail. 

On the same day, gunmen from the “Al-Hamzat Division” militia vandalized approximately 20 tombs in the village cemetery.

Ensuring the safe voluntary return of the displaced and the displaced in all Syrian region’s needs:

First: Opening safe and secure crossings and roads, and putting an end to the phenomenon of smuggling and human trafficking or kidnapping and arbitrary detention.

Second: To take all necessary measures by the existing authorities, to prevent them from being subjected to violations, to avoid potential risks to their lives, and to enable them to recover their property.

28/08/2021AD

Media Office – Afrin

The Kurdish Democratic Unity Party in Syria (Yekiti)

Pictures:

– Destroyed houses in the village of “Qurt Qulaq” – Shara/Sharran.

– A fire in a forest east of the village of “Qurt Qulaq”, July 2018.

– Effects of torture on the detained citizen, “Khalil Aref Manla” – “Qurt Qulaq”, August 2021 AD.

– The martyr “Said Muhammad son of Habib” – “Qurt Qulaq”, Afrin, March 15, 2018.

– The martyr “Radwan Abdel Rahim Hanan” – the village of “Gundê Mezin” – Afrin, 08/22/2021 AD.

– The martyr “Ali Muhammad Hamarsho” – the village of “Brad” – Sherawa, August 26, 2021 AD.

Translated by Europe’s Organization of Democratic Unity Kurdish Party in Syria (Yekîti)

yekiti