According to reports issued by the Afrin-Syria Human Rights Organization, the Afrin region, northern Syria, is witnessing a wave of human rights violations and crimes targeting indigenous populations, particularly Kurds, at the hands of armed men and settlers affiliated with factions formerly known as the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army. The reports highlight cases of assault, kidnapping, theft, and property seizure, amid a lack of accountability and justice.
Juwayq Village: Security Chaos and Continued Attacks on Residents
The village of Juwayq (Juwayq), located in the city center of Afrin, is being subjected to “all kinds of violations and crimes,” according to the Afrin-Syria Human Rights Organization. These violations are being perpetrated by members of the Turkmen Hamzat Division, a component of the former Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, and allied settlers.
On August 1, 2025, a settler named Mazen, from the southern Aleppo countryside, fired live ammunition at Kurdish youth Guevara Hassan after he demanded a debt. The bullet hit him in the thigh and caused “permanent disability in his leg,” according to the report.
In another incident, on the night of September 4, 2025, a settler named Abu al-Yaman Ahmed, from the town of Anjara in the western Aleppo countryside, fired live ammunition at a mentally disabled Kurdish child who was unable to speak, simply because he had stepped out into the street while the settler was visiting a house he had seized from his sister in the village. The child escaped injury, but the settler threatened to kill his brother if the child reappeared on the street, sparking “anger and resentment” among the villagers.
This incident led to a fight between the family of Musa Hassan, a longtime Arab resident of the village, and the settlers. The fight involved the use of sticks and knives, and gunfire was fired into the air. According to the report, Abu Al-Yaman contacted the General Security Service, claiming that there were “SDF cells” in the village, prompting the arrival of a military convoy of approximately 50 personnel and more than 10 military vehicles. Residents held a nighttime demonstration demanding the departure of the settlers and militants, but the General Security forces arrested several residents, including:
1. Mahmoud Hassan Musa
2. Hekmat Hassan Musa
3. Musa Hassan Musa
4. Shaher Muhammad Musa
5. Musa Ahmed Musa
6. Hussein Musa
7. Ahmed Musa
8. Muhammad Ibrahim Allawi
9. Hassan Ibrahim Allawi
10. Sheikh Nadim, the imam of the village mosque
The following day, September 5, four of the detainees were released, while six others—Hikmat Hassan Musa, Musa Ahmed Musa, Muhammad Ibrahim Allawi, Mahmoud Hassan Musa, Hassan Ibrahim Allawi, and Ahmed Musa—remain in detention. The report noted that a “state of panic and fear” prevailed in the village due to the ongoing threats.
Kidnapping of a Kurdish Youth and Clashes in Juwayq
On September 3, 2025, members of the Joint Force (Hamzat-Amshat) kidnapped the Kurdish youth, Botan Qazqli Hassan (30 years old), from the village of Yalanqoz, in the Jandaris district, upon his arrival to his village with his wife. Hassan had been forcibly displaced from the village after the occupation of Afrin in March 2018. Upon his return, he was abducted on charges of “dealing with the previous administration.” He was taken to a Joint Force headquarters in Jandaris, where he remains arbitrarily detained, with “his fate unknown,” according to the report.
Seizure of Kurdish Property in Afrin
Factions of the former Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), through their economic offices, continue to seize the property of forcibly displaced Kurdish citizens or impose taxes on those remaining in the Afrin countryside. According to the Afrin-Syria Human Rights Organization, these factions practice “economic terrorism” against the indigenous population without oversight or accountability.
On August 27, 2025, the Economic Office in Raju District held its first meeting, led by Abu Muhammad Atma, with the attendance of Haidar Baaj (Ninth Division), Abu Shalash (Hamzat Division), and Abu Omair (Ahrar al-Sharqiya). The following day, another meeting was held, attended by the village mukhtars of Raju, where the conditions for handing over properties to their owners were announced, including the submission of identification documents and a security assessment. The report indicated that any owner or their relatives proven to have collaborated with the SDF would be deprived of their property, unless they obtained an official power of attorney from a notary public.
During the meeting, one of the mukhtars raised questions about the imposition of a $6 per tree tax on field owners. Abu Muhammad Atma responded, “If the factions are thieves, then we are the teachers of thieves,” according to the report. He also refused to answer questions about discrimination against Kurds in Afrin compared to other areas, such as Aleppo, where the property of displaced Jews is not touched.
In the village of Ali Jaro, in the Bulbul district, the Economic Office of the Joint Force (Hamzat and Amashat) confiscated the olive harvest of the family of the late Bilal Osso (approximately 1,000 trees) on the pretext that his sons were affiliated with the SDF, despite his elderly widow’s return to the village after the fall of the Syrian regime in December 2024.
Arbitrary Arrests in Kafr Safra
On September 2, 2025, the General Security Directorate arrested three young men from the village of Kafr Safra, in the Jandairis district, while they were attending the funeral of Niazi Haji Muhammad (34). The men are: Idris Khalil Rabhi Kadro (42), Rashid Khalil Rabhi Kadro (41), and Muhammad Hussein Kadro (34). Idris and Rashid were later released, while Muhammad remains arbitrarily detained. Walat Bashir Kadro, nicknamed Abu Walid, is also being pursued by the General Security. The report indicated that the arrests were made without any explanation, with the likelihood that they were the result of a “snitching” by a villager.
Ongoing Robberies in Afrin
Factions of the former Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) and their allied settlers continue to loot and plunder the indigenous Kurdish population of Afrin, even after the General Security Service of the Syrian Transitional Government entered the area in late 2024. On September 3, 2025, two masked gunmen from the Ahrar al-Sharqiya faction assaulted Rashid Marwan Bako, a 25-year-old Kurdish man, in Jandairis, and stole his motorcycle at gunpoint.
In the village of Jalma, residents are forced toFor night watch to protect their property from theft, as settlers use “anesthetic sprays” to enter and loot homes.
موجة من الانتهاكات والجرائم تطال السكان الأصليين وخاصة الكرد في عفرين