Killing child in Syria’s Afrin emphasizes Turkey’s hostility towards Kurds
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The recent crime of killing the young Kurdish boy by a settler in Afrin region in northwest Syria, is a tragic part of a series of crimes committed against the Kurdish population by Turkey in the Turkish occupied areas, a human rights activist said.
Ismael Al-Muhammad a lawyer and a human rights activist emphasizes that these actions clearly violate international laws, including the four Geneva Conventions, which prohibit war crimes and crimes against humanity.
According to al-Muhammad, the recent murder of the 16-year-old Kurdish boy Ahmad Khaled Ma’mo in the town of Jindires, some 20 km to the southwest of the city of Afrin on March 13, serves as undeniable evidence of Turkey’s deep-seated hostility and the actions taken by the forces operating under its command against the Kurds.
Al-Muhammad further explains that the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), have been responsible for horrendous crimes against the innocent civilian population since they occupied the majority-Kurdish region of Afrin in March 2018, following the so-called Olive Branch military operation.
The operation resulted in the killing and injury of thousands, and the displacement of about 300,000 of the original Kurdish inhabitants. As for those who chose to remain in their homeland and not to flee, they have been subjected to widespread human rights violations.
In response to Ahmad’s killing, residents of Jindires took to the streets to protest. However, the SNA factions responded by directly firing at the protesters.
The perpetrator of Ahmad’s murder, Yamen Ahmad Ibrahim, a settler from the village of Sinjar in the Idlib countryside who was working at a bakery owned by the victim’s father, had a week-long dispute with the victim’s father. In an act of revenge, Ibrahim stabbed and killed the young boy, then threw his body in a well.
Viral footage on social media captured the heartbroken mother of the young boy expressing her grief and frustration, saying “What have we done? We are being brutally killed because we are Kurds. I will not seek justice through the courts, which are under the control of those responsible for my son’s murder.”
“The entire Kurdish community is under threat, left without any support or protection. Today, they took the life of my child, and tomorrow it could be your children who suffer the same fate,” she added.
The political activist further explained that Turkey’s support and facilitation of these factions are instrumental in the occurrence of such crimes.
Ismael al-Muhammad concludes that the Turkish government’s cover-up of these heinous actions and its policy of settling families of SNA militants from various Syrian regions in the Afrin area contribute to the displacement of Kurds from their homes and exacerbate the volatile environment, perpetuating violence and causing immense suffering for innocent civilians.