Afrin: humanitarian dilemma awaiting justice after seven lean years

Afrin, the Kurdish city located in the far northwest of Syria, covers an area of 3,850 square kilometers. The region is divided into seven districts, administratively subordinate to 366 villages. Its population, according to the latest census approved by the Syrian Red Crescent in 2010, is 523,258.

The city is one of the Kurdish revolutionary hotbeds that rose up against the rule of al-Assad family in 2004, joining the Qamishlo uprising and rejecting policies of exclusion. Its residents worked to liberate their areas from the collapsed Ba'ath regime in 2012, organizing themselves, and the city entered a period of unprecedented prosperity over the course of six years.

However, these gains were subject to a plot by al-Assad regime, its Russian backers, and Ankara, which culminated in the city's occupation seven years ago. However, the resistance of the residents continues. In this report, prepared to commemorate the anniversary of the occupation of the Syrian city of Afrin, we review the direct and indirect causes that led to the city's occupation, along with accompanying documentation of statistics on the crimes committed and the ways in which the authorities in Damascus have dealt with the issue of the occupied territories.

How did the Turkish attack on Afrin begin?

The Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries launched a military offensive on Afrin on January 20, 2018, under what they called "Operation Olive Branch." This operation followed understandings with the Russian side, which was aligned with the Ba'ath regime. The Russians withdrew from their bases in Afrin and left Syrian airspace vulnerable to Turkish intervention in exchange for pressure on their mercenaries to withdraw from the outskirts of Damascus, specifically from Ghouta, according to a deal that paved the way for the emergence of the so-called De-escalation zones.

The attack was considered a flagrant violation of international law at the time, under the pretext of attacking the territory of a sovereign state without the permission of the official authorities affiliated with the collapsed Ba'ath Party. The authorities limited themselves to issuing statements without taking action on the ground, and reached secret agreements with the occupiers to preserve the seat of power in Damascus. This contributed to prolonging the regime's rule for several years and deepening the wounds of the Syrian people due to their refusal to engage in dialogue.

Fearing a public backlash over the deaths of its soldiers in an unjustified war, the Turkish occupation quickly recruited Syrian mercenaries and former jihadists from the ranks of ISIS mercenaries to fight. Their number was estimated at 25,000, and they committed atrocities in Afrin that were not hidden from public view.

Approximately 6,400 Turkish occupation soldiers also participated, in addition to members of the so-called "Grey Wolves," estimated in numbers in the thousands according to observers.

During these attacks, a number of international observers warned of violations by the occupying state and its mercenaries, such as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein. This assessment was consistent with Human Rights Watch's assessment, which criticized Turkey for "failing to take necessary precautions to avoid civilian casualties" during the attack. Lama Fakih, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said: "Vulnerable civilians appear to be facing displacement and death because of the way Turkey's latest offensive is being conducted."

Turkish occupation airstrikes destroyed many ancient buildings, including the Julianus Church - one of the oldest Christian temples in the world, the famous Iron Age Ain Dara Temple, the Maronite Maronite Tomb, and the Brad site (which was a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Byzantine monasteries and tombs were also destroyed during the Roman period.

After 58 days of resistance by the People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Women's Protection Units (YPJ), along with the city's sons and daughters, against the attacks and 63 days of relentless bombardment using all types of prohibited weapons, including napalm, white phosphorus, and cluster bombs, Turkey and its mercenaries occupied Afrin, and another series of crimes began.

Immediately upon entering Afrin, the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries destroyed the statue of Kawa al-Hadad, a symbol of freedom and victory over oppression in Kurdish mythology. This marked the beginning of an era of sustained oppression over the past seven years.

These actions paved the way for the forced displacement of approximately 400,000 civilians toward the Shahba canton via the famous Jabal al-Ahlam road.

However, they were forcibly displaced again from Shahba canton several months ago, on December 1, 2024, at gunpoint, toward Tabqa, Raqqa, and Aleppo, following an attack similar to the one in Afrin. However, the Afrin issue remains on the agenda of many major parties, most notably the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

The Toll of 7 Years of Genocide

Despite the radical change in the political landscape with the fall of the Ba'ath regime, the Afrin tragedy continues, entering its seventh year with more victims and disasters fabricated by the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries, with no serious intervention from the current authorities in Damascus.

According to what we have documented as an agency, in cooperation with the Human Rights Organization in Afrin-Syria, over the past seven years, starting with the occupation of the city and the forced displacement of its residents, it has been confirmed that the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries have killed (773) civilians, in parallel with dozens of suicides due to oppression and injustice.

In addition, more than (9,740) civilians have been kidnapped and tortured, including (1,288) women and (610) children, to pressure families to pay ransoms. Hundreds of kidnapped women have been subjected to rape and sexual assault, with numerous live testimonies previously published on ANHA agency's pages. Meanwhile, more than 411,420 (nearly half a million) fruit and forest trees, some of which were 320 years old or more, were cut down for timber trading and sale. In addition, 12,597 hectares of agricultural land were burned by the mercenaries of the occupying Turkish state.

The Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries also seized the property of the people of occupied Afrin, estimated at 7,000 shops and 10,000 homes.

It can be said that everything documented so far represents only 15% of the series of crimes committed against the indigenous population of the occupied city, a result of policies of secrecy and intimidation.

Fatwas were issued by the so-called "Syrian Islamic Council," based in Istanbul, in support of war crimes in Afrin, Serêkaniyê, and Tal Abyad. These fatwas advocate the looting of private property as "jihad in the cause of God"," These discourses can be classified as falling within the framework of hatred, ethnic discrimination, and justification for the crimes.

All these statistics and crimes confirm the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries' violation of the Geneva Conventions and all provisions stipulated in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

In the context of theft and extortion, taxes and extortions were imposed by the occupation mercenaries, most notably the Amshat and Hamzat gangs, as well as local councils affiliated with the Turkish occupation army, on olive grove owners. These taxes ranged from 10% to 50%, sometimes reaching as high as 70%, as taxes on the olive and olive oil crops.

As for demographic change, 19 settlements have been built over the past 7 years, the last of which was built by the Korean JTS organization, and 5 camps have been set up to bring in approximately 648,000 mercenary settlers and their families to alter and replace the demographics of the Kurdish region. Before the occupation in 2018, Kurds constituted 95% of the city of Afrin, but now they constitute less than 20% of the total population, with the noose tightening around them through intimidation and terror.

Stealing History

The archaeological sites in occupied Afrin witnessed the destruction by the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries of most of the archaeological sites and sites listed on the UNESCO list during the attacks on Afrin, such as the Ain Dara Temple, the Prophet Hori, the Dodriya Cave, the Tomb of Mar Maroun, and many other archaeological sites.

According to what was confirmed by the Afrin Antiquities Directorate, there are approximately (75) archaeological mounds in Afrin, and the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries excavated most of the mounds in search of antiquities and archaeological finds to sell them outside the Syrian borders. More than 16,000 artifacts were smuggled to the museums of the occupying Turkish state.

Among these are the mounds of Arib Shiksou, Al-Dederiya, Zevinj, Abidan, Siwan, Qurb, Stir, In Hasiri, Kafr Rum, Jumki, Sindiang, Durumi, and Midanki.

In addition to the vandalism and destruction of more than (55) archaeological sites and warehouses, and more than (15) religious shrines belonging to various sects and religions, most notably the Yazidi shrines of "Barsa Khatum, Jil Khana, King Adi, and Qara Girne," in addition to the shrines of "Sheikhs Hamid, Gharib, Barakat, and Manan," and the Alawite shrines of "Yaghmur Dada, Ali Dada, and Aslan Dada."

 The destruction of numerous cemeteries, one of which was converted into a cattle market, and the destruction of several historic mosques, including the Kamruk Mosque, under the pretext that it had cracked due to the earthquake, allowing excavations beneath it for antiquities.

 Among these was the destruction of the tomb of the revolutionary Kurdish politician and writer, Muhammad Nuri Dersimi (1893-1973), along with his wife, Farida, demonstrating the ethnic connection to such symbolic deviations.

Stopping Genocide... Whose Responsibility?

While many Syrian human rights activists describe what is happening as tantamount to genocide, a crime the United Nations adopted in 1948. Article 2 of the convention defines genocide as "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, racial, or religious group: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; or forcibly transferring children of the group from one group to another."

The convention affirms that genocide, whether committed in peacetime or wartime, is a crime under international law, and parties undertake to "prevent and punish" it (Article 1). The primary responsibility for preventing and halting genocide lies with the state where the crime is committed.

However, neither the Turkish occupation army, which occupies the region, nor the current Assad regime, which considers the region part of Syrian territory, intervened to stop the bloodshed that continues to this moment.

The Damascus Authority and the Occupied Territories

Although the recent constitutional declaration does not take into account the requirements of the current phase due to the significant marginalization of approximately 17 components of Syrian society and the broad powers it granted to the head of the authority, Ahmed al-Sharaa, it can be considered a legal document by which the current authority regulates itself.

In Article 1 of Chapter 1 of the Constitutional Declaration, titled "General Provisions," it states that "the Syrian Arab Republic is an independent state with full sovereignty. It is an indivisible geographical and political unit, and no part of it may be relinquished."

However, despite the passage of approximately three months and ten days since the fall of the Ba'ath regime, the occupying forces in Syria still maintain their bases, led by the Turkish occupation army, which has begun building new bases near the Menagh military airport in the occupied al-Shahba canton.

The Israeli military incursion into the occupied territories has also expanded to encompass 250 square kilometers of territory adjacent to the Golan Heights, without the current Damascus authority showing any firm response to the aforementioned parties, who threaten the sovereignty of the Syrian state.

More than half a million displaced Afrinis, both internally and externally, are still awaiting a decision for their dignified return. This decision should begin with the removal of the occupiers and their mercenaries, along with emptying prisons and returning public and private property to their owners.

Article 7 of the same declaration states: "The state is committed to preserving the unity of Syrian territory, criminalizing calls for division and secession, and seeking foreign intervention or external support.

The state is committed to achieving coexistence and societal stability, preserving civil peace, and preventing all forms of sedition, division, incitement to strife, and incitement to violence."

However, the Damascus authorities today have repeated the mistakes of their predecessors. They failed to fully coordinate with the true representatives of all the aforementioned communities to establish a culture of constructive dialogue based on shared governance, thereby achieving stability and civil peace. Instead, they drafted a one-sided, one-sided constitutional declaration, under whose provisions, which have remained ink on paper, ethnic crimes are being committed against the Alawites of the Syrian coast.

Therefore, if we want to end the tragedy of more than half a million citizens that has spanned seven years, we must begin from the pivotal point of involving the Afrinis in shaping the future of their city, which has long been met through dialogue.

T/S

ANHA