SNA arrests asylum seekers in Tel Abyad trying to cross into Turkey
RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – Turkish-backed factions, affiliated with the Syrian National Army (SNA), launched on Saturday raid campaigns against civilians coming from areas held by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) under the pretext of collaborating with the latter.
A source from the SNA’s Military Police said that the Military Police and the SNA’s Third Legion launched on Saturday afternoon a raid campaign in the town of Suluk, southeast of the city of Tal-Abyad, north Syria. The reason behind the campaign was to arrest civilians who came from SDF-held areas, particularly Kurdish individuals, so they can probe into any suspicious espionage for SDF.
The source further added that 38 individuals, including six women, were arrested within the raid campaign in a house belonging to a man working in smuggling people to Turkey. They were then taken to a counter-terrorism center in Tel Abyad.
The source noted that 19 Kurdish arrestees were separated from the others and immediately sent to Turkish Intelligence to be investigated after confiscating all their personal identification documents and cellphones.
This campaign was initiated under orders of Turkish authorities to prevent people residing in SDF-held areas from coming into SNA-controlled areas.