UPDATES:militants Afrin / ldlib

[Anthea]

Afrin IDPs face new crisis as Turkey threatens operation on Tal Rifaat

More than 100,000 civilians who fled Turkey’s military offensive in Afrin are now facing the possibility of more violence as the conflict threatens to follows them to where they sought safety in Tal Rifaat.

People are terrified and desperate, “trapped in a conflict they have absolutely nothing to do with,” Ingy Sedky, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Syria told Rudaw English.

This is a scenario that is repeated again and again across Syria, she said, as people are being displaced for the second or third times.

They are now facing the prospect of having to flee again as Turkey prepares to extend its military operation into Tal Rifaat.

"God willing, we will ensure this operation achieves its goal after taking control of Tal Rifaat in a short period of time," Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.

Turkey’s state-run media is describing Tal Rifaat as the “final target” in Operation Olive Branch, launched against the YPG in Afrin canton on January 20.

The civilians who fled Afrin have already lost everything. They fled their homes with “nothing at all,” only the clothes on their back, Sedky said. The ICRC and their partners at the Syrian Red Crescent have been working to provide accommodation, deliver food aid and basic necessities, and ensure clean water and sanitation facilities are available.

Some displaced families are reportedly sleeping out in the open in Tal Rifaat, which cannot accommodate this huge influx of people.

The host community itself has also needed aid. Sedky said they delivered humanitarian assistance to Tal Rifaat five times in the last year.

Local health officials have appealed for international assistance, stating that their resources and the aid so far delivered does not meet the needs of the people.

Health centres, hospitals, and water infrastructure were damaged in the conflict, the health council of Afrin and Shahba – the region that includes Tal Rifaat – said in an announcement on Monday carried by ANHA news. The council asked for help to treat those needing medical care and to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.

Sedky said it is difficult to predict what will happen if Turkey does begin an offensive on Tal Rifaat, but reminded all parties that protection of civilians must be the top priority.

Tal Rifaat lies in the Shahba district, southeast of Afrin and north of Aleppo. It is under YPG control.

The town is currently sheltering the majority of the estimated 167,000 people who have fled the conflict in Afrin.

Aid agencies – including the Kurdish Red Crescent, Syrian Red Crescent, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the World Health Organization – have delivered several convoys of aid to Tal Rifaat.

On Sunday, the Syrian Red Crescent in coordination with UN agencies delivered 30 trucks of food and non-food items, including medical items, to the town.

Tal Rifaat came under Kurdish control when the YPG-led SDF captured it from Syrian rebels in February 2016.

http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/26032018

[Anthea]

Turkey-backed council is to take over Afrin, suspicion abound

Hours before the Turkish military and its Syrian rebel allies captured Afrin last month, some 97 activists and technocrats met in the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep to discuss how to govern the northwestern Syrian town once it was cleared of Kurdish fighters.

The “Afrin Salvation Conference” formed a civilian-led council to run the city and provide services to the local population.

Members of the Afrin Civil Council said they wanted to avoid a power vacuum in the district after the departure of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the political wing of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which had run the area since Syrian government forces withdrew in 2012.

The Turkish-backed council is made up of 30 representatives, including Kurds, Arabs, Alawites and Yazidis, who were voted in during the Gaziantep conference, according to its officials. The elected members have been based in Turkey for years, local sources said.

Only six women attended the conference and only one elected to the council, the sources said.

“As soon as we set up specialised offices, we started contacting qualified people in Afrin to work with us regardless of their political leanings,” Azad Osman, an Istanbul-based member of the council’s foreign relations office, told Ahval.

Osman said the council firstly aimed to help Afrin residents return to their homes and secondly to help stabilise the region through providing education, healthcare and reconstruction.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian civil war, said it had documented about 300 civilians, including 43 children and 28 women, killed during Turkey’s two-month military campaign to capture Afrin.

The United Nations says the fighting in Afrin city has displaced more than 137,000 people. Nearly 70,000 people remain in the city, it says.

Turkey sees the YPG as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Turkish-based armed group that has been fighting for greater autonomy in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast for three decades.

While the United States also lists the PKK as a terrorist organisation it has backed the Syrian Democratic Forces, made up mainly of YPG fighters, as the most effective ground force against Islamic State.

The YPG denies any direct link to the PKK, but the two groups share the same symbolic leader and ideology.

Human Rights Watch said it had documented cases where rebel groups working with Turkish forces were “looting and destroying civilian property in the city of Afrin and surrounding villages.”

The Afrin Civil Council said it was looking into allegations of human rights violations committed by Syrian rebel fighters.

Afrin will administratively be part of Turkey’s southern province of Hatay, according to Haan Shindi, a leading member of the newly established council. He told German broadcaster Deutsche Welle that a governor would be appointed to Afrin, but the Hatay governorate would assume the task of coordination.

PYD officials are critical of the new council, accusing it of working with an “occupying force”.

“Those working with the council are not known to the people of Afrin. All of its members were chosen by the Turkish government and they don’t represent the people of Afrin,” said Sulaiman Jaafer, the head of foreign affairs department at the PYD-led former administration of Afrin.

Jaafer and most of his colleagues have fled to the Shahba region, southeast of Afrin. He said thousands of displaced people from Afrin had been living there since Turkish forces captured the city a month ago.

“Even if we hypothetically said this council would do good work for the people in Afrin, the Ankara-appointed governor will not allow it to work freely. The governor will be the ultimate decision-maker in Afrin,” Jaafer told Ahval.

But Osman said his civilian council was founded only to serve the people of Afrin and help them return to their homes. He said the council does not pay any attention to what he called the PYD’s “empty accusations and slogans that have caused the destruction of our region to serve the interests of the (Syrian) regime and Iran.”

Syrian relief groups that have been working since the beginning of the crisis in Afrin said they were willing to cooperate with the new council, but the council had indicated a reluctance to work with them.

“We’re trying to work with the new council, but the coordination is still minimal,” said Dara Astiri, a Gaziantep-based relief worker from Afrin.

“It released a statement recently in which it credited itself for the return of fleeing residents, while in fact it wasn’t behind it. It was us and many other independent organisations that helped those people return to their homes,” Astiri told Ahval in a phone interview.

While Russia and Iran, the two main backers of the Syrian government, have called on Turkey to withdraw from Afrin, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalın said that Turkey would remain there and said operations “will continue until the whole region around Afrin … is cleared of terrorist elements”.

https://ahvalnews.com/afrin/turkey-back ... ion-abound

[Anthea]

No support from any international organizations for Afrin people

The people of Afrin who displayed a great resistance against attacks launched on January 20 by the invading Turkish army and the gangs they gathered from groups like ISIS, Al Qaeda and Al Nusra for two months, after which they migrated to the Shehba region on the decision by the canton administrations to avoid new massacres.

The people continue their resistance under harsh conditions in the Shehba region since March 18 and they have not received any support from any international aid organizations. There are 176.000 people from Afrin settled in 50 villages in Shehba’s Fafinê, Tal Rifat, Ehres and Kefernayê subdistricts and 10 villages in Afrin’s Sherawa district.

Following the vile attacks by the Turkish army and their gangs, the people of Afrin had to leave their homes with the clothes on their backs, and continue their resistance with the support of the Kurdish people and their friends.

With support from Kurds in Northern Syria and Europe, and the Kurdish people and their allies in general, two camps have been set up to date in the Shehba region with limited means.

There are some 1.000 families in the Berxwedan camp, and families have started to settle in the Serdem Camp which has just been completed. But the people from Afrin live mostly in villages, courtyards and derelict buildings.

The people continue their resistance in the Berxwedan Camp and they say that they haven’t received any support from any international aid organization, and that they live on only what the Kurdish people have been sending them under difficult and limited circumstances. The people of Afrin say their conditions are rough but they will resist for their lands despite all, and never accept the invasion.

70 year old Fatme Ebdulah had to migrate from the Beradê village of Afrin’s Sherawa district, and said they had to leave their homes under a cloud of bombs and were only able to take the clothes on their backs. Fatme Ebdulah’s husband Hesen Ebûd said they woke up one night to the sound of bombs: “Our homes, our belongings, everything has been looted. We live in camps here. We are grateful for the friends trying to see to our every need, but it is too hot, summer is coming, there are things that are bigger than them. To this day, nobody except for the friends has helped us.”

A woman named Zeynep Hesen said her family first stayed among the ruins of a building in Ehres, and they moved to the camp later on, then added that their needs are increasing with the onset of summer and the heat: “You see, there are children everywhere. They are starting to get sick, partly due to the heat. They can’t bathe properly. When the weather gets a bit hotter, many infections will turn up too.”

Mihemed Cemil said they also lack medicine and cleaning supplies and that no international aid organization has helped them, and they have been forgotten. An old woman named Fidan said her family have been out of their home for a month, and she hasn’t had an opportunity to wash herself, adding that they have no clothes and there is a lack of water. Another citizen named Ehmed Heyder said they couldn’t bathe for days.

[Anthea]

“Turkey wants no trace of Kurdishness left in Afrin”

In its attempt to Turkifying everything reminding of Kurds in Afrin, Turkey has even changed the name of Avrin Hospital (in Kurdish Avrin Nexweşxaneya) into Turkish.

In its attempt to Turkifying everything reminding of Kurds in Afrin, Turkey has even changed the name of Avrin Hospital (in Kurdish Avrin Nexweşxaneya) into Turkish.

Speaking to Mesopotamia News Agency, Former hospital doctor Ebu Mihemed said: "Kurdish signs in the hospital were taken down and replaced with Turkish ones. They ca not even tolerate Kurdish names. They want to erase every trace of Kurdishness from Afrin. This is what is called occupation”.

Turkey and the Turkish-supported Free Syrian Army Turkey (FSA) continue their attacks against villages, districts, canton centres. At least 300 villages and centres have been burned and destroyed. The attacks against everything Kurdish continue.

After the destruction of the statue of Kawa the Blacksmith in Afrin, after the killings, rapes, torture, plunders now it was the turn of the Kurdish signs in Avrîn Hospital.

Ebu Mihemed, one of the doctors who worked in the hospital, said: “They want to change the demography of the region by destroying every trace of Kurdishness”.

Mihemed, who had been a gynecologist at Avrin Hospital for 6 years, said he had to treat dozens of injured people when the attacks against Afrin took place. Mihemed, himself from Afrin, stated that he remained in the city from the beginning of the attacks to their end.

Mihemed remembered with anguish the casualties, the wounded. Every day dozens of women and children were taken to the hospital to be treated. “Turkey and their islamist allies were targeting civilians, despite saying the contrary. In fact, they targeted Kurds” Mihemed said.

The doctor also underlined the deafening silence of the world. “Something which strikes us a lot - said Mihemed - because this massacre happened before the eyes of the world, yet nobody said anything”.

Mihemed confirmed that they are receiving news from Afrin. These are tales of horror, said the doctor: “People disappear, women are raped, people's property is confiscated, people are tortured, the world must see what they are doing to Kurds in Afrin. The press must go to Afrin and report, delegations must be formed and visit the city to tell the truth about the repression Kurds are suffering”.

[Anthea]

Tahrir al-Sham retreat

Sources to Al Mayadeen reveal that government leaders affiliated with Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham vacated their offices in the security region within the governorate and municipality buildings in the center of Idlib

Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported on Sunday that the Syrian army's artillery continued to target militants, their fortifications, and weapons depots in Idlib's countryside.

Sources to Al Mayadeen stated that terror group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham transferred a number of the bodies killed during this morning's raids west of the city of Idlib, to Ibn Sina Hospital.

Sources added that the "rescue government leaders" affiliated with Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham vacated their offices in the security square within the governorate and municipality buildings in the center of Idlib.

Earlier today, an Al Mayadeen correspondent reported that Russian warplanes targeted the armed groups' headquarters in the countryside of Idlib, Latakia, and Aleppo, noting that Russian planes targeted HTS sites and the Turkistani Islamic Party in the northern countryside of Latakia and the Idlib region.

Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham called on its members to evacuate headquarters to avoid air strikes by the Syrian and Russian air forces, according to Al Mayadeen's correspondent.

Additionally, local sources confirmed that all the "Tahrir al-Sham" checkpoints in the vicinity of Idlib are now clear of its members, in fear of the raids.

The joint Syrian-Russian Air Force raids were carried out on military targets of the "Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham" and the "Turkistani Islamic Party" in the countryside of Idlib and Latakia.

Local sources told Al Mayadeen that the warplanes targeted armed groups that had been bombing civilian sites in the countryside of Hama and Latakia, over the past two days.

The Syrian army's surveillance planes monitored the movements of "Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham" and the "Turkistani Islamic Party" in the axes of Badama and al-Najiyah in the western countryside of Idlib and the al-Khader hills in the northern countryside of Latakia, as they were directly targeted without information on the extent of the losses.

These field developments come after the escalation carried out by the militants against the safe areas in the villages of Jourin, Salhab, and Deir Shamil in the western Hama countryside and Qardaha in the Latakia countryside through the use of missiles and drones, which resulted in four deaths, including two children, and several wounded.

The armed groups' escalation against the safe areas comes in light of the Turkish-Syrian negotiations, which the factions considered a threat to their areas of influence in Idlib, northern Aleppo, and the countryside of Latakia.

Terrorist groups are scattered in the city of Idlib and parts of its countryside, the majority of which belong to the Al-Nusra Front organization, which HTS had spun out of, and which is included on the international terrorism list.

Reports suggest that these groups attacked safe areas in the Hama countryside with rockets and drones, leading to the death and injury of civilians, and material damage to public and private property.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... l-sham-ret

[Anthea]

Airstrikes on HTS sites revealed

Al Mayadeen's sources make revelations about the airstrikes conducted jointly by the Russian and Syrian air forces on positions held by the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham terror group

More than 50 militants were killed and wounded in raids by the Syrian and Russian armies on the positions of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham in the town of Sarja in Jabal al-Zawiya, south of Idlib, sources familiar with the matter told Al Mayadeen on Tuesday.

"The headquarters is affiliated with the Hamza Brigade faction, which is under the leadership of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, and includes fighters trained on suicide operations," the sources said.

Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham announced the death of a number of its members in the raids, including prominent cader Rabih Al-Othman, nicknamed "Abu Karmo Morek."

Sources familiar with the matter told Al Mayadeen that there were deaths and injuries among the ranks of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham in air strikes and artillery strikes that targeted one of its largest underground strongholds south of Idlib.

The gunmen's ambulances found it difficult to reach the site as a result of the continuation of the strikes and many gunmen getting trapped under the rubble, noting that the headquarters contained rooms, warehouses, and a garage for vehicles.

The Russian air force targeted sites held by armed groups in the northern Idlib countryside, an Al Mayadeen correspondent reported Sunday.

The Russian airstrikes, the reporter said, also targeted the operations room of the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham terrorist group, which it uses alongside its allies, in Ariha, south of Idlib.

The Russian aircraft targeted HTS and Turkistan Islamic Party sites in the northern Latakia countryside and the vicinity of Idlib.

More than 25 air strikes have been recorded in the vicinity of Idlib, all of which targeted sites held by HTS and allied forces, an Al Mayadeen correspondent added.

HTS made a public announcement calling on its members to vacate all headquarters and sites to avert the airstrikes being carried out by the Syrian and Russian air forces.

The bombing of HTS sites comes after the Turkish authorities were reported to have been summoning numerous owners of exchange companies owned by Syrians in several Turkish cities for over a week now, interrogating them about the assets owned by Abu Mohammad Al-Julani, the leader of the HTS terror group, sources told Al Mayadeen.

The sources explained that these companies owned by Al-Julani have branches spread within the occupied Syrian governate of Idlib. It appears that these moves by Turkey come, in part, to pressure Al-Julani into ceasing attacks against Turkish-backed armed groups in northern Aleppo.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... s-revealed:

[Anthea]

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Russian, Syrian destroy Al-Nusra

Russian, Syrian forces destroy Al-Nusra headquarters in Idlib, the center was run by people responsible for plotting and conducting terror attacks against Syrian government forces and civilians

A senior Russian officer confirmed that Russian and Syrian air forces targeted on Saturday a command center belonging to Al-Nusra Front in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib that was responsible for coordinating attacks on civilian and military targets.

"A joint airstrike launched by the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Air Forces destroyed a headquarters of Al-Nusra Front near the city of Idlib," Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit announced.

"It was run by people responsible for plotting and conducting terror attacks against Syrian government forces and civilians," he added.

The deputy head of the Russian Center for Syrian Reconciliation told a news briefing that Al-Nusra Front attacked the neighboring Aleppo province several times in the past 24 hours.

He noted that a strike at a car killed a Syrian serviceman and injured four others.

It is noteworthy that on July 19, the Syrian Ministry of Defense announced that units of the Syrian army had destroyed military equipment and weapons that were used by militant groups in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib, to attack safe areas, and downed drones equipped with explosives.

In late June, the Ministry confirmed that in cooperation with the Russian Air Force, its forces had targeted the headquarters and warehouses of militants in Idlib countryside and destroyed drone-launching sites.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... s-in-idlib

[Anthea]

Women kidnapped, 99 murdered

The Human Rights Organization Afrin-Syria made a statement denouncing the systematic crimes committed against women in the northern Syrian canton of Afrin, which has been occupied by the Turkish state since 2018

Members of the organization made a statement to the press in the Serdem Camp in Shehba Canton, which houses IDPs from Afrin. They were accompanied by representatives of civil society organizations.

The statement read out by Heyhan Elî, a member of the organization, pointed out that the invading Turkish state and allied armed mercenary groups have committed various crimes against women from Afrin, such as kidnapping, torture, murder and sexual assaults.

The statement pointed out that one of the main objectives of the crimes committed by the Turkish occupation state and allied armed factions was to drive women into a corner and ignore them. “The crimes committed against women in Afrin have not been witnessed in any period of history, including in the wars of the Mongols and the Tatars.

According to Articles 6-7-8 of the Rome Statute, these acts fall into the category of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Yet, in spite of international laws, women and children are subjected to all forms of torture and crimes,” the statement said.

The Human Rights Organization listed the violations and crimes committed by the Turkish state since its invasion of Afrin in 2018 as follows:

Over a thousand women have been kidnapped and the aftermath of many of them is unknown.

99 women have been murdered. 9 committed suicide under suspicious conditions.

74 women have been subjected to sexual assault and rape.

On the other hand, the organization denounced cases of forced marriage and underage marriage under pressure and coercion.

“As women’s rights activists, we call on all international human rights, humanitarian and feminist organizations to fulfill their moral and legal duty in the face of the crimes committed against the entire population in the occupied territories of North-East Syria.

The perpetrators of these crimes, especially those committed against women and children, must be brought to justice. Pressure should be put on the Turkish state to withdraw its troops from all the territories it has occupied. The displaced people should be secured a safe return to their land and the victims should be provided with moral and material support.”

[Anthea]

Turkey's Human Rights Violations

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Thursday against two Syrian militias and three of their leaders, accusing them of severe human rights abuses in the Kurdish Afrin region

The sanctions focused on the Suleiman Shah Brigade and the Hamza Division, both affiliated with Turkey and operating as part of the armed opposition against the Syrian government.

Named after the founder of the Ottoman Empire, the Suleiman Shah Brigade's leader, Mohammad Hussein al-Jasim (Abu Amsha), reportedly instructed the brigade to "kidnap local residents, demanding ransom in return for their release and confiscating their property as part of an organized effort to maximize the brigade's revenue," as stated by the Treasury.

He also faces allegations of forcibly displacing Kurdish residents and seizing their property for militia purposes.

Walid Hussein al-Jasim, the younger brother of Abu Amsha and another leader within the Suleiman Shah Brigade, is also under sanctions. He is accused of sexual assault, orchestrating abductions, muggings, and ransoms. In 2020, he allegedly killed a prisoner who was unable to meet a ransom payment after months of abuse.

Sayf Boulad Abu Bakr, the sanctioned leader of the Hamza Division, is accused of brutally repressing the population in the Afrin region of Syria, including kidnapping Kurdish women and severely abusing prisoners.

The Treasury also imposed sanctions on the Al-Safir Oto car dealership based in Istanbul. It is alleged to be co-owned by Abu Amsha in partnership with Ahmad Ihsan Fayyad al-Hayes, the leader of the Syrian armed group Ahrar Alal-Sharqiya.

Brian E. Nelson, speaking on behalf of the Treasury, emphasized the US commitment to supporting the Syrian people's ability to live free from exploitation by armed groups and violent repression.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/820212

[Anthea]

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham attack in Aleppo

Al Mayadeen correspondent has reported that the Syrian Arab Army is facing one of the most violent attacks by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) terrorists in the northern countryside of Aleppo

The Syrian Arab Army is expanding its range of fire to include the supply lines of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorists in the vicinity of Sarmin, Idlib, our correspondent added.

The terrorist groups are attempting to regain positions that the Syrian Arab Army had advanced to during its previous defense against an attack by Turkistan Islamic Party gunmen on the Kafr Taal front last week. Our correspondent further stated that "intensive artillery and missile shelling by the Syrian Arab Army is targeting the militants' positions around the villages of Kafr Taal and Kafr Amma."

This attack is taking place concurrently with another attack carried out by terrorists from the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army on the axis of the village of Mahmoudiya in the countryside of Manbij, which is under the control of SDF in the eastern countryside of Aleppo.

Earlier today, violent clashes erupted between Syrian National Army (SNA) fighters and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in the western outskirts of Manbij in the countryside of Aleppo.

SNA fighters are making a concerted effort to advance in the direction of the Am Adasa village in western Manbij, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported. This advance is accompanied by a barrage of heavy artillery and rocket fire from both sides.

This latest escalation comes on the heels of Russian airstrikes on Friday, targeting five positions that the SNA fighters had previously occupied in a village in eastern Aleppo. These areas have been under the control of the US-backed SDF, while the Russian military, in coordination with the Syrian government, is actively working to thwart the expansion of the SNA in northern Syria.

The strikes came after days-long clashes between the National Syrian Army and SDF on the Manbij front.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/pol ... tack-in-al

[Anthea]

Settlers plunder olive harvest

Foreigners who settled in the houses of Afrin residents who were forcibly displaced by Turkey and its mercenaries within the scope of changing the demographic structure, confiscated all the seasonal products of 80 trees

According to information obtained from local sources in Afrin's Şîyê district, foreigners and a group of shepherds settled in the region after it was occupied by Turkey and its mercenaries in 2018, continue to plunder people’s proprieties and trees. In the village of Çeqela Ortê in Şiyê district, the settlers stole this year's entire seasonal harvest of 80 olive trees.

According to the information obtained, the names of the citizens whose products were confiscated are as follows: 15 olive trees belonging to a citizen named Xelîl Reşîd, 50 trees belonging to Îmad Reşîd Hemo and 15 olive trees belonging to Eli Betal Mistefa.

The Turkish army, together with its mercenaries, has been committing crimes against humanity such as arbitrary treatment of the people of the region, forced displacement, violence, kidnapping, robbery, plunder and looting policies since the occupation of the city. With this policy, the invaders are trying to force the remaining local people to emigrate in order to be able to replace them with mercenary families and Turkmens close to them.

[Anthea]

Woman dies after house seized

An elderly Kurdish woman in northern Syria’s Afrin city died of a stroke on Monday after her house in the village of Ali Jaro was seized by Turkey-backed Syrian militias

Malak Khalil Ibo, 63, was one of the thousands of Kurds who had to flee their homes in Afrin after the city was invaded by Turkey and its Syrian proxies in 2018. She returned to Afrin in the summer of 2022, but her house and olive farm had been seized by a militia group Suqour al-Sham, according to a source close to the family.

“Grieved by the seizure of her house and the pillaging of her olive farm by the Suqour al-Sham militants, she suffered a stroke and passed away,” the source added.

Laman Khalil, a human rights activist in Afrin, told Rudaw that Ibo had been threatened by the militants prior to her death.

The source close to the family said that Ibo had made a will, asking for her body to be taken back to her house one last time. Despite the efforts of the villagers to convince the proxies to honor her wishes, the militants refused the request.

Ibo is survived by her seven children. Her husband, Manan Ibrahim, died eight years ago.

Afrin is a Kurdish city which was invaded by Turkey and its Syrian mercenaries after they launched a military operation against Kurdish fighters in January 2018. Since then, the members of the pro-Turkey groups have been accused of violating the rights of Kurds as well as cutting olive trees of Kurdish farmers.

Human rights groups and the United Nations have published reports detailing arbitrary arrests, detention and pillaging, among other violations.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeas ... /091120231

[Anthea]

BCF Delivers Drawing Course

The Kurdish Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) has delivered a drawing course to residents of the Kurdish city of Afrin in neighboring Syria

The educational course aims to alleviate the suffering of local residents and give them a chance to portray their experiences following February's deadly earthquakes that shook parts of the city, the charity group said in a statement on Tuesday.

In recent weeks, the Barzani Charity Foundation has been actively involved in humanitarian efforts across the Kurdistan Region, Nineveh Plains, and disputed Kurdish territories. The foundation's aid teams are providing various services, such as drawing, English language and music classes, tailoring workshops, and computer training for internally displaced persons and others impacted by natural disasters and conflicts, aiming to ease their challenges and enhance their living conditions.

Based in the Kurdistan Region, the BCF plays a vital role as a charity organization, on both local and regional levels. Its primary mission is to offer financial support to disadvantaged families and provide humanitarian aid and relief to those affected by natural disasters and conflicts.

Moreover, the charity group is delivering essential resources to internally displaced persons, including tents, blankets, medical supplies, educational materials, food packages, financial assistance, and other necessary provisions.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/830285

[Anthea]

Bomb Kills One, Injures Nine

A deadly explosion rocked the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in northern Syria on Saturday, resulting in one fatality and leaving nine individuals injured, a war monitor reported

The incident occurred at the entrance of Al-Qaws Station, where an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated inside a truck, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The victims were swiftly transported to the military hospital in Afrin, where they are currently receiving medical attention.

The explosion led to immediate mobilization efforts by military forces, the Military Police, and the Civil Police in Afrin. Subsequently, the road to the city was temporarily cut off as authorities responded to the crisis.

The blast, which coincided with heightened military activities, resonated a few hours ago in Afrin and the northern Aleppo countryside, both situated within the "Olive Branch" Operation areas.

This incident follows a recent attack on November 11, where a member of the "Jaysh al-Sharqiya" faction within the pro-Turkey "National Army" lost his life.

Another member sustained injuries during an armed assault carried out by unidentified assailants using silenced pistols. The attack targeted a military checkpoint near Al-Hamam village in Jinderes countryside, located within the "Olive Branch" area in the northern countryside of Aleppo.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/830690

[Anthea]

Regime fuel blockade

Internally displaced people from northwest Syria’s Kurdish city Afrin, currently residing in northern Aleppo’s Shahba region, continue to face great difficulties, exacerbated by the Syrian regime's fuel blockade which has halted the education process and led to the complete blackout of electricity in the region for several days

“Due to the blockade and the lack of transportation and heating fuel, the education process in the canton has been suspended indefinitely,” said the Shahba and Afrin Canton education authority on Sunday.

Ibrahim Shekho, a legal activist from Afrin residing in Shahba, accused the Syrian military of enforcing a blockade on the canton, leading to the closure of schools.

“The fourth division of the Syrian military does not allow fuel to enter, and they impose harsh conditions on the Autonomous Administration, even though they take their share of the financial sums,” Shekho told Rudaw.

Around 14,500 students study at 68 schools and institutions in the Shahba region, according to information obtained by Rudaw.

The region has also been experiencing an electricity blackout over the last three days due to the lack of fuel, causing further hardships for those residing in the IDP camps.

“If the situation continues like this for a week, the Avrin Hospital in Shahba region will also go out of commission, and the work of bakeries and water sources will also be at risk of shutting down,” the activist added.

There is approximately 150,000 thousand people residing in the Shahba region, 100,000 of which are IDPs from Afrin. Around 10,000 of the IDPs reside in camps, while the rest live in various towns and villages.

Shahba is located 15 kilometers north of Aleppo city, and is under the he authority of the Syrian government in terms of security and military, but the affairs of the displaced people of Afrin are managed by the northeast Syria’s Autonomous Administration of Afrin and Shahba.

Afrin city was predominantly populated by Kurds before it was invaded by Turkey and its Syrian proxies, known as the Syrian National Army (SNA), under the pretext of fighting terrorism in March 2018.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeas ... /271120231