The Human Rights Organization Afrin-Syria has issued a statement documenting the toll of violations and crimes committed during March 2026 in the regions of Afrin and Aleppo, at the hands of armed factions affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Defense and other unidentified groups.
The statement noted that “scenes of violations continue to recur in the Afrin region despite eight years of occupation,” clarifying that the casualty toll during the month reached 13 citizens, including a girl and a woman, across both the Afrin region and the city of Aleppo. It detailed that among the victims were those who lost their lives due to floods, one due to a heart attack, a young man who committed suicide, and two others who perished following the collapse of a residential building in the Al-Ashrafiyeh neighborhood of Aleppo.
Regarding abduction and detention, the statement clarified that “more than 70 individuals were abducted and detained during March, the majority of whom were targeted in connection with the Nowruz holiday events.” It added that four young men were also arrested in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood of Aleppo “under charges and pretexts of dealing with the Autonomous Administration.”
The statement highlighted the continuity of “thefts and armed robberies in the Afrin region by masked individuals,” pointing to the looting of homes belonging to Kurdish citizens while they were occupied with Nowruz celebrations. This is in addition to the theft of 18 head of livestock, gold jewelry, and a sum of money in the Jandiris district. Furthermore, it noted an assault on a taxi driver and the robbery of his funds, as well as an assault on a citizen and his wife and the theft of their property in the Shieh district.
The statement emphasized that “the file of seizure of private property in the Afrin region remains an obstacle to the return of displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees to their homes,” in light of “the dominance of weapons, chaos, and the absence of justice and accountability.”
In a related context, the statement referred to the return of a convoy of displaced persons from Afrin, comprising more than 400 families, from the Jazira regions to the city of Afrin on March 9. This followed “the recent agreement concluded between the Autonomous Administration and the Syrian Interim Government on January 29.” It added that another convoy, comprising 500 families, is being prepared to return to their homes after eight years of forcible displacement.
The organization concluded its statement by appealing to the Syrian Interim Government, and specifically the administration of the Afrin region, “to fulfill its functional and ethical role toward the Kurdish citizens who recently returned to their homes, to restore their property, and to put an end to the actions and violations committed by looters and gunmen against the indigenous Kurdish inhabitants of Afrin.”
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