920 violation cases documented, considered as war crimes, law neglects

SHARVIN MUSTAFA /AFRIN

Afrin canton has still being occupied by the Turkish occupation army and its gangs that committed horrible crimes against Afrin canton's people since the first day of its occupation. They committed more than 12 massacres, killed 750 civilians, including children and women and destroyed thousands of civilians' homes and public facilities.

Not to mention the displacement of thousands of Afrin people's canton, and practicing horrible violations against the civilians' rights after occupying Afrin canton since18 March such as kidnapping, killing, looting and dispossessing of property, and demographic change to settle the mercenaries' families and residents of different regions of Syria.

As harvesting olive's season has come, the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries prevented the villagers from going to the olive fields and harvesting their crops. They have seized 90 percent of the olive harvest, equivalent to 100,000 US dollars.

A border crossing have been opened for the Turkish occupation army and its gangs to transfer the olives, olive oil, the property that had been looted and weapons and ammunition from Afrin to the Turkish territory.

Documentation of violations in Afrin

Afrin's situation and the violations practiced against the civilians since the first day of the attack on Afrin to this day have been the focus of local Human Rights organizations which may have been eyewitnesses to what the civilians were exposed to.

Where the Syrian Lawyers' Platform to Defend Afrin during the period of the Turkish occupation army's attacks and its mercenaries on Afrin worked to document all cases of violations, perhaps the most of what have been documented are physical and material violations.

According to the member of the Syrian Lawyers' Platform to Defend Afrin Mohammed Saeed, they documented more than 900 cases of physical and material abuses and sent what have been documented to international Human Rights organizations several times, but without a response.

Material losses of Afrin canton's people who are resisting in al-Shaba canton have been documented. The properties were estimated by billions.

According to sources, more than 2,500 civilians have been kidnapped, the fate of 850 is still unknown, and 145 women since the occupation of the Turkish army and its mercenaries to Afrin.

What matters to international law about war violations, to remind, conventions on war crimes, and the protection of civilians

The Geneva Conventions which were held in four stages from 1864 to 1949 regulated that acts classified as war crimes. The fourth convention provided for the protection of civilians in the event of war and the preservation of their civil rights.

Most of the violations were defined in the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907. The Nuremberg International Military Tribunal of 1945 defined war crimes as "violations of the laws and customs of war", including the killing, ill-treatment or deportation of civilians in an occupied territory, the killing or ill-treating of prisoners of war, killing of hostages, robbery of private property, and destruction.

Torture, ill-treatment or execution of prisoners are defined as crimes against civilians such as rape of women, assault on personal property, forced labor and displacement, torture and genocide as war crimes.

The agreements ignore Afrin case

Perhaps the most important points common to agreements concluded throughout history is the protection of civilians, their safety and their exclusion from the atmosphere of war.

Afrin canton is being exposed to all violations that must be challenged in international forums. The terms of agreements, or within international humanitarian law, as killing, abduction, displacement, looting, seizure of property and demographic change have been considered.

In particular, the member of the Syrian Jurists' Platform to Defend Afrin stressed that he did not go to any Human Rights or humanitarian point in Afrin or al-Shahba to document the violations practiced against the civilians by the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries.

(T/S)

ANHA