The Afrin region in the Aleppo countryside is witnessing continued kidnappings and arrests of Kurdish civilians, according to a report issued by the Afrin-Syria Human Rights Organization. In the latest developments, a Kurdish youth was documented being kidnapped by armed factions, reflecting the ongoing violations despite the political changes in Syria.
According to the Afrin-Syria Human Rights Organization report, members of the so-called “Joint Force,” which includes the Hamzat and Amshat factions, kidnapped Ahmed Ibrahim Jalo, 26, from the village of Qantara in the Maabatli district of the Afrin countryside, on Friday, September 5, 2025. Local sources, as stated in the report, reported that Jalo was kidnapped “on charges of dealing with the former administration” immediately after returning to his hometown, where he was forcibly displaced in 2018. The young man was taken to an “unknown location,” and his fate remains unknown.
The organization’s report indicates that “kidnappings and arrests continue in the Afrin region,” despite the seven-year “occupation” and the beginning of the eighth year, even after the “fall of the former Syrian regime” and the assumption of power by the “Syrian Transitional Government.” The report asserts that “the reality in Afrin remains unchanged, with no significant change,” as armed factions continue to “activate the role of economic offices” and seize civilian property, in addition to kidnapping and arresting Kurds returning to their homes “on the same charges, using the same scenario, and by the same parties.”
