A Grave Violation of International Law and a Systematic Destruction of the Foundations of Dignified Living
Statement:
The Kurdish Human Rights Network in Syria, together with the undersigned organizations, expresses its strongest condemnation and deep denunciation of the widespread, systematic, and organized wave of looting and pillage targeting dozens of Kurdish villages in the countryside of Kobani. These acts are being perpetrated by armed groups and gangs operating under the umbrella and control of the Ministry of Defense of the Syrian Interim Government. Such practices constitute a flagrant violation of the fundamental rights of civilians and a systematic destruction of their means of livelihood, in a context that fundamentally contradicts any claims of achieving stability or de-escalation in the region.
According to extensive and reliable field documentation conducted by the Network and the undersigned human rights organizations, these violations have evolved from isolated incidents into an organized campaign affecting approximately 60 Kurdish villages, where homes and private, agricultural, and commercial properties have been systematically targeted. Among the most prominent villages in which large-scale, organized looting operations have been documented during the recent period are:
Khirab Ashk Village, where homes, shops, and restaurants were almost entirely looted.
Kark Kitkan Village, whose shops, restaurants, and civilian homes were also subjected to organized looting.
The villages of Balak, Munif, Hamdoun Sharqi, Hamdoun Gharbi, Jalabiya, Bir Nasser, Qalhadeed Safriya, Khirab Barkil, Nour Ali, Birk, Mandak, Khirab Ashk Barjo, Kojakmit, Darfliet, Mil, and Jil have likewise been subjected to robbery and pillage.
All Kurdish villages entered by the Syrian army in the southern and southeastern countryside of Kobani are being systematically looted, without exception, and in full view of their owners.
These operations follow a dual and dangerous pattern:
First stage: Comprehensive looting.
Organized armed groups storm homes, shops, and farms in the villages, targeting everything that can be carried away, including furniture, electrical appliances, food supplies stored for the winter, livestock, agricultural equipment, and electricity generators. Families are left without any means of subsistence or capacity to withstand the harsh winter conditions.
Second stage: Prevention of return and impunity.
The original residents of these villages are deliberately prevented from returning to their homes under flimsy security pretexts. This prevention serves two main objectives: facilitating looting without oversight or resistance from property owners, and creating a new demographic reality by keeping villages empty of their original inhabitants.
The continuation of these practices under the watchful eye—and with the active participation or explicit complicity—of the forces that have recently taken control of the area confirms their organized nature and their connection to a systematic policy rather than random acts. The timing of this assault, coinciding with a state of security vacuum and political fragmentation, exploits the vulnerability of the population and turns them into easy targets for crimes committed with impunity.
The large-scale and systematic targeting of private and family property does not merely amount to ordinary criminal offenses; it constitutes:
A grave violation of international humanitarian law:
A clear breach of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol II, which categorically prohibit “pillage and looting” at all times. These organized acts may rise to the level of war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
A serious violation of international human rights law:
Including the right to property, the right to adequate housing, the right to an adequate standard of living, and the rights to work and food. The prevention of return further constitutes a violation of the right to freedom of movement and residence.
A blatant abdication of legal responsibility:
The forces exercising effective control over these villages bear full legal responsibility under international law to protect civilians and their property and to prevent such crimes within areas under their control.
Accordingly, the Kurdish Human Rights Network in Syria and the undersigned organizations call upon the Syrian Interim Government and the states (the United States, France, and the United Kingdom) sponsoring the agreements between the Syrian Interim Government and the Syrian Democratic Forces to:
Immediately and urgently halt all acts of looting and pillage, withdraw any armed elements involved, and remove all army forces from the targeted villages.
Allow the immediate and unconditional return of all displaced residents to their villages and ensure protection of their remaining property.
Open independent, impartial judicial investigations into all looting operations and prosecute all those involved, including those who issued orders, colluded, or turned a blind eye.
Promptly return looted property to its owners and provide fair compensation to those affected.
Recognize these organized violations as a serious threat to humanitarian and security stability in northern Syria.
Exert intensive diplomatic and political pressure on the parties supporting these forces to immediately cease such practices.
Support and activate accountability mechanisms, including referral of the case to competent international courts if necessary.
Ensure access for emergency humanitarian aid and independent human rights documentation teams to all affected villages.
Intensify joint monitoring and documentation efforts to preserve evidence for judicial purposes.
Advocate for the establishment of a special international commission of inquiry into these incidents.
Provide urgent legal, psychological, and financial support to affected and displaced families.
The continuation of this policy of looting and impunity represents not only the destruction of property, but a deliberate assault on human dignity and on communities’ hope of living in peace and security on their land. No stable future can be built amid the violation of civilian rights and the transformation of villages into spoils of war. The undersigned entities affirm that genuine peace begins with respect for a person’s right to their home and property, and that any discourse on “stability” loses its credibility as long as household doors remain unsafe from the intrusion of looters.
Qamishli – Syria
3 February 2026
Signatory Organizations:
Kurdish Human Rights Network in Syria
Human Rights Organization in Syria – MAF
Kurdish Committee for Human Rights in Syria (Rased)
Organization for the Defense of Prisoners of Conscience in Syria (Rawange)
Kurdish Human Rights Organization in Syria (DAD)
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