The elderly Kurdish man, Saleh Ahmad Samo, was killed after being shot by two masked gunmen riding a motorcycle while he was accompanied by his wife in the Al-Diriyah neighborhood at the Al-Jazra junction in the city of Raqqa.
According to circulated information, the two attackers fired shots directly at the victim’s head before fleeing to an unknown destination. Meanwhile, the incident sparked widespread popular demands to enhance security, reveal the identity of the perpetrators, and bring them to justice.
The targeting of Samo has raised questions regarding the motives behind targeting Kurdish citizens in Raqqa and other areas, amid recurring incidents of killing and kidnapping affecting them.
This incident comes days after the killing of Kurdish citizen Adel Abdul-Hanan Naasan in the Afrin region, a case documented by human rights organizations.
The Rights Monitor Syria platform stated that it had documented the killing of Adel Abdul-Hanan Naasan after his body was found inside his agricultural land planted with olive trees near the junction of Faqiran village, in the Jindires district of rural Afrin, on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. In an incident it said raised growing fears of escalating violence and targeting of Kurdish civilians, particularly after reports emerged that a message containing incitement and racist phrases was found at the crime scene.
The platform clarified that Adel Abdul-Hanan Naasan was born in 1959 and hailed from the village of Shitka, in the Mabata (Maabatli) district of rural Afrin. He was among the Kurdish civilians who had recently returned to their area after years of displacement.
It noted that the crime sparked a wave of anger and resentment among the area’s residents, especially after reports circulated stating that a paper was placed on the victim’s body bearing the words: “This is the fate of every Kurd.” The platform considered this phrase to carry a racist and inciting nature, raising serious concerns over the potential existence of a motive based on national hatred behind the crime, which necessitates an independent and transparent investigation to determine its circumstances and hold those responsible accountable.
Note: This text is translated from the original Arabic version… Read the Arabic version:Click here
