The second anniversary of the start of the unjust war against Afrin, whose most prominent title is terrible violations and a blurring of the Kurdish identity

ARK News: On this day, January 20, 2018, at four o'clock in the afternoon, Turkey and the armed factions began the military operation on the Afrin Kurdistan Region, and the air and ground shelling began in various locations in the city center of Afrin and the six areas: Jenderes, Rajo, Mabata, Bulbul, Shiye, and Shara.

The war lasted 58 days, and during those days, nearly 400 civilians, including women and children, were martyred, in addition to the thousands of young people from the Afrin region who joined the PYD. Hundreds of vital centers, government institutions, hospitals and schools were also severely damaged as a result of the war and bombing.

On March 18, 2018, armed factions entered the city center of Afrin, and the factions began, like locusts, to carry out looting, robbery, takeover and looting of the contents of civilian homes, shops, markets, factories, Berin factories and contemporary factories, cars, tractors and motorcycles.

During the two years the Kurdish region of Afrin witnessed grave violations against the Kurdish civilians, where armed factions committed crimes, transgressions and violations, inhuman and immoral practices against the region and civilians who are clinging to the land of their fathers and grandparents.

More violations were recorded, which consisted in killing civilians under torture, kidnapping young men and women on false charges, with the aim of imposing royalties on them, stealing property and seizing property on the pretext that it belonged to the PYD, theft, looting and trafficking of antiquities in the region, and implementation the process of demographic change, and the settlement of Arab families instead of displaced Kurds fleeing to the Shahba areas.

The region also witnessed more explosions and shells striking the heavily populated neighborhoods of civilians without revealing the identity of the perpetrators of these crimes, other than that, these factions, in cooperation and coordination with the settlers, burned and cut thousands of fruitful and unfruitful trees such as olives, cypress, pines, and trees, forest and area forests. On the economic level, the farmers of the region suffered heavy material losses due to the high cost of agricultural supplies, and fixing the price of farmers' products such as oil and olive at a price that is much lower than the standard price.

According to ARK's documentation and follow-up of events, crimes and violations which are committed in the two years.

Civilians who martyred under torture and in mysterious circumstances, they are as follows, starting from the oldest:

1- On 12-3-2018 the civilian Muharram Khoja from the village of Chaqala of Shiye township was subjected to kidnapping, and after a week of kidnapping and torture, the militias informed the family of the kidnapped that Muharram Khoja had died in a hospital in the Turkish city of Kills and was buried in Shara township. Note that the family did not receive his body, only they knew that their son was buried in Shara township.

2- On 7/4/2018, Hanan Na’asan was beaten and tortured in the Saraya prison in the city center of Afrin, and he was martyred as a result of torture.

3- On 4/8/2018, the militants of the Levant Front shot the mentally disturbed young man, Nash’at Suleiman, at the Husse village checkpoint of Mabata township, where he was subsequently martyred.

4- The martyrdom the popular singer Qadir Muhammad Kilisli

5- His son Khalid Qadir Muhammad Kilisli in the village of Barade on April 29, 2018, martyred under torture.

6- Rajab Shukri Rashid from the village of Darwish of Rajo township, was killed on 14-5-2018 by “Ahrar al-Sharqiya” militias.

7- On 22/5/2018, gunmen stormed the house of Mustafa Abdo Shahin in the Al-Zidiya neighborhood of Afrin, and during Shahin’s attempt to defend and his honor and house, he was shot, which led to the martyrdom of Mustafa Abdo Shahin from the village of Gobake of Mabata township.

8- On 7-6-2018, the citizen Walid Allawi, who was working as a driver and employee in the “Faisal Qaddour” school, was found killed on the (Basouta - Ghazawiya) road.

9-On 12-6-2018, the deputy head of the local council of Shiye township (Sheikh Al-Hadid) Ahmed Sheikho was martyred due to his wounds after being beaten and tortured by the militants of Muhammad Jassim Abu Amsha, and despite the fact that the Al-Amshahat militias published a news that Sheikho lost his life as a result of the disease that he was suffering from , however, the family confirmed that he was subjected to severe torture and as a result he lost his life, and not as it was reported that his brother was suffering from shortness of breath (asthma).

10- On 19-19-2018, an armed group in the city of Afrin raided the house of Sami Al-Qouj with the aim of theft, and during Sami Al-Qouj’s attempt to defend himself and his house, the gunmen shot him, and as a result, he lost his life and was martyred, and his brother was wounded, and during the funeral of Sami Al-Qouj he chanted The mourners the leaving of armed men out of Afrin, then the funeral procession turned into a demonstration.

11- Muhammad Ibish Na’so from Haj Hasna village of Jenderes township martyred on 3-7-2018 by Al-Hamzat militias.

12- Sami Haj Khalil, 40 years old, from Haj Hasna village of Jenderes township martyred on 15-7-2018 by Ahrar Al-Sharqiya militias.

13- Mrs. Sultan Nasro, wife of Hamdi Abdo from the village of Barade of Sherawa area, she was martyred 7-8-2018 by the militias of Al-Hamzat.

14- Hamdi Abdo, husband of Sultan Nasro, from the village of Barade of Sherawa area martyred on 7-8-2018 by the militias of Al-Hamzat.

15- Saeed Muhammad Tatar, 53 years old, from the village of Araba of Mabata township martyred on August 25, 2018, by armed men of Al-Fateh Brigade.

16- Muhammad Amin Brim, from the village of Kafar Safra of Jenderes township martyred on November 6, 2018, by Hamzat militias.
17- Aisha Hanan 80 years old from the village of Burj Abdalo of the city center of Afrin, she was martyred on 11-8-2018 by the militias of Al-Hamzat

18-On 16-1-2019, the body of the young Agid Sheikh Hasan was found from the village of Avraze village of Mabata town, who lives in the Al-Zidiya neighborhood of the city center, showing signs of torture.

19-Muhammad Al-Atr, an Arab IDP who was subjected to torture in the village of Midan Akbas - martyred by armed militia of "Ahrar al-Sham" on 01-22-2019.

20-On 11-2-2019, the elderly citizen Ali Qalandar from Qantare village, 80 years, martyred from his wounds, after he was targeted by Ismail Haj Bakir belonging to the militias of the Jabha Al Shamiya in Mabata town while he was grazing his sheep in the plains of the town.
21- Khoshnav Fayiq Hanan, 34 years old, from the village of Barbane of Rajo ton, his body was found on 6-3-2019, and he is a well-known barber in Afrin who has his barber shop near the security center.

22- Mohamed Ibrahim was martyred on 19-5-2019 due to his wounds after being tortured by Sultan Murad's militias. The story of his martyrdom is as follows: On 06-14-2018, the armed militias belong to Farhan Al-Agaidi (Sultan Murad Faction ) requested an amount of money from the citizen Muhammad Ibrahim who is from the village of Khalilanka, which belongs to Bulbul town, while he was returning from his work from Afrin to sell agricultural crops belonging to the villagers, such as grape leaves, etc., after Muhammad refused to give money to militias, he was severely tortured and on 15-6-2018 he was released after being tortured by al-Agaidi gunmen, and then he was transferred to a hospital in Turkey for treatment after his deteriorating health condition, he was martyred on 5-19-2019.

23- Rashid Hamid Khalil from the village of Belle who is residing in Jenderes town- martyred on 22-5-2019 by Ahrar Al Sharqiya militias.

24- Suleiman Toubal from Jenderes town, martyred on 28-5-2019, after clashes took place between the armed factions in Jenderes township center.

25- Abdo Sheikh Ibn Sheikh Bilal from the village of Sheikh Ahmed of Rajo town who is residing in Ashrafiya neighborhood, martyred on 6-8-2019, his body was found in a field on Afrin - Rajo Road.

26- Hanan Hanan, who is from the village of Sheikh Ahmed of Rajo town, was martyred on 6-8-2019, and his body was found in a field near Rajo Road with Abdo Sheikh Ibn Sheikh Bilal.

27- Abdo Ibrahim, 27 years old, from the village of Kakhere, martyred by Al-Amshat militias (the date of the incident has not been confirmed)

28- Sharafeddin Sido was kidnapped along with Rashid Hamid Khalil and his son Muhammad on 13-5-2019 - from Qarmitlq village of Shiye town, his body was found deformed on 22-6-2019 in the fields of Qastal Jendo village, knowing that he was severely tortured, according to what appeared in a video of him asking his family to secure the sum for the kidnapper group.

29- Rustam Sido from the village of Aghjalye of Jenderes town, who was burned and martyred in mysterious circumstances on 24.6.2019.

30- Ali Abboud from the Arab component, martyred after his house was raided by an unknown group on 19-7-2019 in the city center of Afrin.

31- Hussein Muhammad Hamo was martyred under torture by Al Hamzat group and the family was informed of his deceased on August 16-8-2019 and hand over his body to them, as he was kidnapped a year and a half ago.

32- The elderly Muhieddin Ali Oso, from the village of Qitme, martyred on 25 August 2019 by suffocation by an armed group in the Ashrafiya neighborhood the city center of Afrin.

33- The martyrdom of the elderly Houriya Muhammad Bakir, wife of Muhieddin Oso, on 6-9-2019, due to her wounds as a result of torture that she was subjected to by an armed group in the Ashrafiya neighborhood on 25-8-2019.

34- Muhammad Hanif Hissy was martyred under torture in Rajo prisons on 17-9-2019.

35- Shukri Mustafa, 60 years old, from Hissy village of Mabata town, martyred on 3-10-2019, twenty days after he was tortured by the Jabha Al Shamiya.

36- The martyrdom of Adnan Rashid Amir who is from Midanky village of Shara town on 4/10/2019 after resisting thieves who tried to steal his property, as he was shot with several bullets.

37- The martyrdom of elderly Zaynab Mustafa Mousa on October 29, 2019 in a hospital in Turkey, due to her wounds which sustained in the terrorist bombing of Jenderes town.

38- The elderly Suleiman Hamko was martyred from the village of Kaniye Gawrike of Jenderes town, on 5-11-2019, after he was hit by a gas cylinder (gas jar) by the Al Hamzat and Al Sharqiya militias.

39- Founding the body of the girl, Nerjas Dawoud who is from the village of Kimar, 23 years old, with an Arab settler on 18-11-2019.

40- The martyrdom of young Muhammad Bakir Hussein Bakir who is from the village of Dumilya of the Mabata town on 12-12-2019 in Idlib by the Al-Nusra Front.

Other than that, and within the series of violations and crimes committed in Afrin, the media revealed the existence of a mass grave for Kurds of Afrin region in a prison for the militias of Sultan Murad, according to Al Arabiya Net. The BBC also documented that the mentally disturbed young man, Arras, from the village of Qastal Jendo, was subjected to the ugliest forms of Ottoman torture (Al Khazouk) by armed factions, without mentioned charge.

Despite the kidnapping of hundreds of young men and women of the Kurds component, the fate of hundreds is still unknown, and the factions in the middle of December 12-2019 ruled the life sentence of nine civilians from the area, knowing that this is the first time that the life sentence is imposed on the Kurdish civilians in Afrin region.

Displaced Kurds in Shahba

On 2-12-2019, armed factions committed a massacre against the children of Afrin in the town of Tal Rifaat, targeting the town with several shells, where ten civilians were killed and ten others were wounded, among the victims were 16 children.

In the camps for the displaced of Afrin, it witnessed violations against the minors. On January 19, 2019, an armed party affiliated with the PYD kidnapped the girl, Rojin Abdel Qadir, 16 years old, from the village of Ashuona of Bulbul town, and dumped her in training camps. On October 25, 2019, the minor girl, Rojin, was martyred on one of the village fronts, in Sari Kaniye city in Syrian Kurdistan.

On 16 -12-2019, the same party kidnapped Ahmed Nazir Hassan, 15 years old, from the village of Tirmuja, from Al-Shahba, and took him to an unknown destination.

On 3-7-2019, the camps witnessed the kidnapping of the child, Jamal Jabo, for the first time, and despite his release two times, the authority re-kidnapped him for the third time on 16-12-2019.

During the two years blacks prevailed over Afrin, whether they clung to the land of their fathers and grandparents in the region, or to the displaced people in the countryside of Aleppo (Al-Shahba areas). Although almost two years have passed since the invasion of Turkey and its factions, the situation is getting worse by the day, due to violations, and the imposition of royalties and taxes on civilians that aim to remove the remainder of the indigenous Kurdish population, in addition to the process of changing the demography of the region and obliterating its Kurds and Kurdish identity, perhaps the last month - December of 2019, was the most prominent in the process of resettling Arab families in the homes and properties of the original Kurdish displaced people, due to the recent Idlib war, where the sources indicate that two thirds of the Kurds of Afrin have become outside the region, and the overwhelming majority now are Arabs, and that process continues to obliterate the region's identity, change its demography, steal its antiquities and its features - Nabi Hori, Ain Dara, religious shrines and ancient hills - continuing until now.

Documentation and follow-up: ARK Media Foundation

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