We demand international investigation of crimes committed in Afrin since Turkish takeover – Mazloum Abdi
Qamishli – North-Press Agency
On Thursday, the Syrian Democratic Forces' (SDF) Commander-in-Chief, Mazloum Abdi, called for an international investigation of what he described as “crimes committed in the Afrin region, northwestern Syria since the Turkish army and its affiliated groups took control of it, two years ago.”
In an interview with North-Press, Mazloum Abdi said that the latest “terrorist” bombing that killed dozens of innocent people in the city of Afrin, is the result of the policy of destruction which has been pursued by “the Turkish occupation forces and its mercenaries” in the city.
Last Tuesday, more than 60 people were killed and more than 70 others were injured in a bombing in a popular market in the city of Afrin.
Mazloum Abdi said that many reports from international organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch document war crimes and widespread violations by Turkish-backed opposition groups against the people of this city for more than two years, in light of the disregard by Turkish forces, that did not take responsibility “as an occupying force."
He pointed out that human rights institutions in northeastern Syria have also documented the violations and crimes in the region, and that the SDF has the ability to provide sufficient evidence to condemn Turkey and its affiliated groups with crimes committed in the Afrin region as well as in the regions of Sere-Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tal-Abyad.
Mazloum Abdi called on the United Nations and the guarantor powers in Syria, led by the United States and Russia, “to support an international resolution to conduct an investigation regarding the bombing that hit Afrin two days ago.”
Mazloum Abdi said that conducting an investigation about the Afrin bombing and the rest of the violations in this region “will show the falseness of Turkey’s accusations against our forces which it made shortly after the bombing.”
“It is not surprising that Ankara may take advantage of the incident with the aim of launching an offensive against new Syrian areas, something it had previously done prior to the aggression against other areas in Syria,” Mazloum Abdi said.