Turkish-backed armed faction extorts 3 civilians in Syria’s Afrin
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – Members of the Sultan Suleiman Shah faction, also known as al-Amshat, affiliated with Turkey, detained in Sunday three civilians in Afrin’s countryside, northwestern Syria.
The detainees were later released after several hours but were given a 47-hour ultimatum to pay a ransom of $2,000 each.
According to local sources speaking to North Press, the detainees included an elderly man and two others aged between 50 and 60. The arrests occurred in the Maabatli (Mabata) subdistrict of Afrin.
The sources revealed that the three individuals were subjected to hours of torture and physical abuse before their release.
They were threatened with re-arrest and transfer to the Sheikh al-Hadid (Shiyeh) area, controlled by Seif al-Jassem, the brother of faction leader Abu Amsha, if they failed to pay the demanded ransom within the given timeframe.
The victims are reportedly original residents of Afrin who had recently returned to their village after living in the Shahba region in the northern countryside of Aleppo for about a month.