US designates SNA leaders for committing atrocities in Syria’s Afrin
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated on Thursday two factions and three leaders of Turkish-backed armed opposition, aka Syrian National Army (SNA), due to committing serious human rights abuses against those residing in Afrin Region, northwest Syria, particularly the Kurds.
The Suleiman Shah Division (Amshat), affiliated with the SNA, subjects the populace of this region to abductions and extortion, and has targeted Afrin’s Kurdish residents, the US Department of the Treasury said, in a press release.
Afrin has been under the occupation of Turkey and the SNA factions since 2018 following a military operation dubbed “Olive Branch” against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of preserving Turkey’s national security.
The operation caused the displacement of about 300,000 of the original inhabitants of the Kurds of Afrin who have been taking shelter in 42 villages and five camps in Aleppo northern countryside, locally known as Shahba region, since then.
The SNA-affiliated Hamza Division has been involved in abductions, theft of property, and torture, according to the source.
The Amshat and Hamza Divisions are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13894 for being responsible for or complicit in, or for having directly or indirectly engaged in, the commission of serious human rights abuses against the Syrian people.
Al-Safir Oto, headquartered in Istanbul, is a car dealership owned by Abu Amsha, the leader of Amshat Division, that provides an outlet for Abu Amsha to invest his income.
Abu Amsha is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13894 for engaging in serious human rights abuses and al-Safir Oto is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13894 for being owned or controlled by Abu Amsha.
Walid Hussein al-Jasim, younger brother of Abu Amsha and holds a leadership role in the Amshat Division, committed sexual assault against women, and coordinated abductions, muggings, and ransoms. In addition, he killed a prisoner who was unable to pay ransom in 2020 following a month of abuse.
Al-Jasim was also designated pursuant to E.O. 13894.
Saif Abu Bakr, leader of the Hamza Division, was also designated pursuant to E.O. 13894 for acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Hamza Division.
On August 15, North Press held a dialogue session that discussed the state of human rights and violations in the Turkish-occupied city of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), northeast Syria. The dialogue session presented a comprehensive report on those violations titled “Atrocities committed by the SNA in Turkish-occupied areas in north Syria”.