Advocacy group calls for accountability for violations in Syria’s Manbij
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Synergy/Hevdesti Association, a victims’ advocacy group operating in northeastern Syria, raised on Tuesday alarms over severe human rights violations allegedly committed by Turkey-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), in the city of Manbij in northern Syria.
In a detailed report, the association called for urgent international intervention and accountability for those implicated.
The report highlighted disturbing incidents, including the execution of two injured members of the Manbij Military Council, a component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), while they were receiving medical treatment at a hospital near the Mills Roundabout.
It also documented the execution of detainees in multiple areas of the city without any form of legal process.
The report detailed numerous casualties during clashes. It pointed out that bodies of the deceased, including entire families killed in their vehicles, were reportedly left unburied and exposed in the streets.
Further, the association alleged that the SNA factions engaged in widespread displacement of Kurdish civilians, looted their properties, and arrested numerous individuals, targeting men and women associated with civil institutions under the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
One particularly shocking incident involved the home invasion of Kurdish physician Ali Wali, where he and his wife were assaulted, and $20,000 stolen from their residence.
The Synergy/Hevdesti Association called for an independent international investigation into these violations. “What is happening in Manbij is not merely a military confrontation but a grave violation of human rights, with a deliberate targeting of civilians and systematic forced displacement,” the report stated.
The violations reportedly occurred following the entry of the SNA factions into Manbij, part of a military operation they named “Dawn of Freedom.”