From Baath era to al-Nusra: Events in Tal Aran revive Kurdish memory

The raids on Kurdish homes and the kidnapping of young men, as well as assaults on Kurdish women that took place in the towns of Tal Aran in the eastern Aleppo countryside on Tuesday, have brought back to the forefront a long history of violations against Kurds in the region. These began with policies of marginalization under Baathist rule, continued with the massacre carried out by “Jabhat al-Nusra” (the current government) in July 2013, and reached the recent security campaign that sparked widespread condemnation in Kurdish circles.

Security forces affiliated with the interim government in Syria carried out extensive raids in Tal Aran, involving more than 200 vehicles according to local sources, including motorcycles equipped with medium machine guns. A security cordon was imposed and entrances and exits to the town were closed, coinciding with the kidnapping of Kurdish young men.

Assaults on several Kurdish women were also reported during the raids, resulting in injuries to citizen Nuzha Hamki. This prompted residents to organize protests and demand the release of detainees in Hasakah, Amuda, and Qamishlo late last night, as well as calls to open an investigation into the reported violations.

Tal Aran lies southeast of Aleppo, alongside Tal Hasel, and is considered one of the oldest Kurdish settlements in the region. Before the outbreak of the Syrian crisis, it was home to tens of thousands of residents, most of them Kurds, alongside other components.

During decades of Baathist rule, residents of the two towns, like other Kurdish areas, complained of policies of marginalization and exclusion, weak development and services, as well as restrictions on Kurdish identity and culture.

However, the most deadly event in the history of the two towns took place in late July 2013, when “Jabhat al-Nusra” (now the interim government in Syria) launched a large-scale attack on Tal Aran and Tal Hasel following clashes with the People’s Protection Units (YPG).

The attack, according to what ANHA agency documented, resulted in the killing of around 50 Kurdish civilians, including women, children, and the elderly, in addition to field executions and the kidnapping of dozens of civilians. Thousands of residents were forced to flee their homes, turning the two towns into one of the most prominent sites of Kurdish suffering during the years of the Syrian war.

ANHA agency also documented looting and the burning of homes and property at the time, as well as the disappearance of several civilians, while the effects of those events remain present in the memory of local residents, many of whom have not been able to return to normal life even years later.

Activists believe that the recent raids and assaults on Kurdish women have revived feelings of fear among residents of the two towns, especially as they target an area that still bears the scars of massacres and displacement suffered by Kurds in previous years. They warn that any new violations against civilians could deepen social divisions and further complicate the situation in northern Syria.

Meanwhile, the Syrian interim government has not yet issued an official statement explaining the reasons for the raids or responding to allegations of arrests and assaults on civilians and women, while rights-based calls continue for an independent investigation, clarification of what happened, and accountability for those responsible for any violations that may have occurred during the security operation.

A-H 

ANHA