QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Kurdish-region of Afrin in northwestern Syria has witnessed a surge in violent crimes targeting Kurdish civilians, as at least three people were killed and several others injured over the past week by gunmen described as “unknown perpetrators.”
On Sunday, 45-year-old Jassem Shahed from the village of Nasriye in the Jindires district, west of Afrin city, sustained severe injuries after being shot by unidentified armed men while heading to an olive press. No arrests have been made.
Earlier this month, 70-year-old Shukri Ahmad Oso, from the village of Kafr Zit, was killed when unknown gunmen opened fire on him as he returned from his field on his tractor.
The following day, Mohammed Darwish Ahmad and his wife were shot dead while guarding solar panels near the village of Ghazawiyah in the Afrin countryside. The perpetrators remain at large.
Local sources report that thefts and assaults have become increasingly common in recent weeks, particularly during the ongoing olive harvest season. Residents have accused armed groups and their families affiliated with Turkish-backed factions of robbing olive crops belonging to indigenous Kurdish farmers in the subdistricts of Jindires, Rajo, and Sharran.
“The situation is unbearable,” said Ahmad Khello, a resident of Jindires who lost part of his olive crop to theft this month. “People are afraid to go to their fields or even to walk at night. We report the crimes, but nothing happens—the so-called authorities do nothing.”
The incidents underscore the deteriorating security conditions in Afrin, which has been under Turkish control since 2018. The region is nominally overseen by the security forces of the Syrian transitional government, but on the ground, it is under the control of Turkish-backed Syrian factions such as the Hamzat and Amshat groups.
Despite repeated claims of stability, Afrin continues to witness widespread lawlessness, including armed robberies, land seizures, and environmental destruction due to unregulated grazing and deforestation in remaining forested areas such as Barsaya Mountain and Maydanki.
Afrin, once a predominantly Kurdish region, was seized by Turkish forces and affiliated Syrian factions during Operation Olive Branch in March 2018, leading to the displacement of over 300,000 Kurds. Since then, rights organizations have documented systematic violations, including kidnappings, property seizures, forced demographic changes, and looting of agricultural wealth.
The region’s olive industry—long a symbol of Afrin’s economic and cultural heritage—has become a focal point of abuse, with reports every harvest season of armed factions confiscating olives or forcing farmers to pay “taxes” under threat.
Meanwhile, the term “unknown perpetrators” has become a common euphemism in local reporting for members of pro-Turkish militias accused of acting with impunity.