US State: Turkey's affiliates committed war crimes in occupied territories

A report issued by the US State Department considered that there were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Syria during 2023, which included credible reports of arbitrary and unlawful killings, including killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and inhuman or degrading treatment by the Damascus government and mercenaries supported by the Turkish occupation state and the Turkish army itself. The report stated that neither the Damascus government nor Turkey took measures to punish the officials who committed these crimes.

The report stated that “paramilitary groups linked to the Damascus government have been involved in repeated violations, including massacres, indiscriminate killings, kidnapping of civilians, physical assault, sexual violence and arrests.”

According to the report, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham mercenaries also committed a wide range of crimes, including murder, kidnapping, physical abuse, and recruiting or using children, and ISIS carried out killings, attacks, and kidnappings, including against civilians.

The report indicated that the crimes committed by Turkish-backed mercenaries in NE Syria, focused on the Kurdish and Yazidi population and other civilians, and included killings, kidnapping of civilians, physical abuse, sexual violence, forced displacement from homes, looting and seizing private property, and transferring detained civilians cross the border into Turkey, recruit children, and loot and desecrate religious sites.

The so-called "Syrian National Army", supported by the Turkish occupation state, prevented civilians from recovering their property, threatened them with arrest for demanding the return of their property, or forced them to pay "fees" to return their property, according to the report.

The report also pointed out that the vast majority remained unable to recover their homes and lands, due to threats of detention during the year 2023.

The US State Department report stated that members of the “Syrian National Army” continued to commit acts of looting that may amount to war crimes, indicating that the assessment of these and other violations committed by those armed groups supported by Turkey was part of a systematic effort to impose demographic change against Syrian Kurds.

The US State Department report quoted the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria as saying that there are multiple cases of torture and death in detention centers affiliated with the Syrian National Army, especially in the detention centers in Rajo, Sere Kaniye/Ras al-Ain, and Kilis.

The report also spoke about the air attacks launched by the Turkish occupation state on NE Syria, which resulted in the death of civilians and caused serious damage to civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and factories.

The report quoted the Independent Investigation Commission as saying that there were reliable accounts during the year of beatings and other forms of torture at the hands of members of the “Syrian National Army” to extract confessions, noting the use of stun guns and electric shocks, including on the genitals, and other forms of sexual violence in detention Centers. The International Commission of Inquiry also noted that Kurdish detainees were primarily interrogated about their faith and ethnic affiliation.

Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham has also restricted freedom of association, including civil society activity, in areas under its control.

The report pointed out that the Damascus government prevented members of the national and ethnic components from carrying out traditional, religious and cultural activities. The Damascus government also continued to limit the use of the Kurdish language and restrict the publication of books and other materials in the Kurdish language. The Kurds faced discrimination and repression, as well as violence by the Damascus government.

The reports indicated that members of the Syrian National Army continued to detain, beat, and kidnap Kurdish women in Afrin and Sere Kaniye Ras al-Ain.

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ANHA