Abduction, extortion in occupied Afrin, Azaz

A young man was abducted in the town of Mobata in Afrin countryside, another at the al-Shat checkpoint at the western entrance of Azaz, and three other civilians at the Deir Hafer checkpoint. Meanwhile, mercenaries imposed hefty extortion payments on two citizens from the city of Shieh.

14 June, 2025 16:13

NEWSDESK

The areas occupied by Turkish-backed mercenaries are witnessing a dangerous escalation in abductions and blackmail targeting residents, particularly those returning to their villages after years of displacement. According to local sources, an armed patrol, believed to belong to the "General Security" affiliated with the Syrian Interim Government, abducted 25-year-old Khalil Mustafa Aref Dado in Mobata on Friday, June 13. He is a resident of the village of Hasiyah/Mirkan in the same district and had returned to his village only a day earlier. He was forcibly displaced in 2018 following Turkey’s occupation of Afrin, when he was a minor aged 17. He was taken to an unknown location.

Also, "General Security" personnel stationed at the al-Shat checkpoint at the western entrance of Azaz on the Aleppo–Afrin highway abducted Ahmad Othman Hamo, a young man from the village of Khaltan in the Jindires district of occupied Afrin. He was on his way back to his village after spending 11 years in Aleppo due to forced displacement. He too was taken to an unknown location.

Meanwhile, Turkish-backed mercenaries at the Deir Hafer checkpoint on the international Aleppo road abducted three civilians: Shukri Abdulhanan Mustafa (54 years old) from the village of Faqeera in Jindires, Akram Mohammed Alou (41 years old) from the village of Qatma in Sharran, and Abdul-Salam Ahmed Al-Khalil (35 years old) from the village of Khirbat Sharran. They were heading to the city of Aleppo, according to the Afrin-Syria Human Rights Organization.

In a related development, Turkish-backed mercenaries extorted money from two residents in the city of Shieh/Sheikh Hadid and its surrounding villages. Sherwan Ibrahim was forced to pay $900 to reclaim his home, which had been seized for seven years, in addition to $200 for digging a water well. Another resident, Ahmad Rifaat, was forced to pay $500 to dig a well near the medical clinic.

The regions of Azaz and the roads leading to Afrin, especially those passing through the mercenaries checkpoints, are witnessing a significant rise in abductions targeting residents returning to or departing from their villages.

A-H

ANHA