Jeen Peres

Turkish military and affiliated armed opposition groups kidnapped and arrested 71 people, including 10 women and a child, in the Syrian-Kurdish region of Afrin in the month of November.

According to the Violations Documentation Centre in Northern Syria (VDC-NSY) these are only the documented names. The real number will be higher, but some families retain their missing members’ names.

The Turkish military and its armed factions are deliberately detaining and kidnapping more local people in the region and forcing their families to pay ransoms for their release. The Centre noted continued violations against women, which have increased in November. This is a deliberate Turkish policy, but is carried out by “Syrian armed groups” under the name of the “Syrian National Army” of the Syrian Interim Government.

Meanwhile, VDC-NSY has documented the arrests of 7,027 since the Turkish military and its affiliated armed groups have controlled areas of northern Syria, and their terrorist operations are still continuing.

It is noteworthy that many humanitarian organisations, including those affiliated with the UN, have issued several reports on the violations of the Turkish factions in northern Syria and their many crimes against civilians. These crimes include killing via torture, which is classified as a war crime, and is punishable by international law.