Female citizen recounts violations of Turkish mercenaries in occupied Afrin

The Turkish occupying forces, employing mercenaries, warplanes, and drones, launched their assault on Afrin on January 20, 2018. Their operations spanned towns, districts, villages, and fields. After nearly two months of intense conflict, Afrin fell under occupation, despite the fierce resistance of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), and the civilian population.

 In a desperate bid to preserve their dignity and resist Turkish occupation forces’ demands, over 300,000 people fled their homes, vowing to return once the occupiers were expelled. Those who stayed behind, anchored to their land, found themselves entrapped by a life imposed upon them—bereft of choice, engulfed by mercenaries' crimes.

 A woman who escaped occupied Afrin after seven long years narrates the oppressive, unethical behavior of the Turkish-backed mercenaries. Their policies, she states, impose unbearable burdens on Afrin’s residents.

"A.M.," a 39-year-old mother of three from the village of Kimar (name withheld for the safety of her family still in Afrin), revealed how these mercenaries deprive residents of their basic rights, allowing settlers to amass wealth and privilege with impunity. "They’ve turned the area into a toxic environment where people are fighting for their most fundamental rights," she said.

 From 2018 until her eventual departure in 2025, A.M. recalls enduring constant fear. She recounts the lack of freedom to move about safely, the ever-looming risk of confrontations, verbal abuse, or kidnappings by mercenaries seeking exorbitant ransoms.

 A.M. shared one example of the absurdity and corruption pervasive in occupied Afrin: "They issue us identification cards, but when traveling to nearby villages, they claim these IDs are fake and extort money to let you go free. What kind of absurd system is this?"

 She highlighted the mercenaries’ punitive measures against olive growers—an economic mainstay of Afrin’s residents. “Many people abandoned their land and olive groves due to the mercenaries' impossible demands. They wouldn’t let us properly tend to our land, imposed arbitrary decisions that degraded olive oil quality, and stifled production.”

 The occupation forces cut down 15 of A.M.'s 40 olive trees, appropriating three-quarters of the harvest from the remaining trees and leaving her with only a fraction of her rightful yield. “Living under occupation is unbearable. Every aspect of life is dictated by their rules—our homes, our land, and even our lives are treated as their property.”

 One harrowing memory stands out. She witnessed the abduction of a 17-year-old girl, Rula, whose family refused a forced marriage proposal from the mercenaries. Rula was taken to an unknown location.

 Looting was equally rampant. A.M. described how the mercenaries raided the home of an elderly man who had returned from displacement, stealing everything he had brought back. With a voice full of pain, A.M. lamented, “They’ve stolen everything—the land, our youth, our safety. We want them to leave and return to their own cities and villages. Let us live in peace!”

 In September 2024, Turkish-backed mercenaries belonging to the “Suleiman Shah Brigade” brutally suppressed a protest led by women in a village in Afrin. Demonstrators, protesting against repeated violations, were attacked, leaving six injured, including four women.

a.k

ANHA