Dozens killed during March in northeast Syria’s Sere Kaniye
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – The security chaos in the Turkish-held city of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), northeast Syria, caused the killing of dozens in a series of explosions during March.
While the Turkish-backed armed opposition groups continue violations against civilians through arrests and homes’ raiding in both Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tel Abyad, northeast Syria.
Both regions have been under the control of the Turkish forces and the Turkish-backed armed groups since the Turkish invasion in October 2019.
Explosions and fighting
Early in March, violent clashes erupted between two groups of al-Hamzat Brigade due to a dispute between its members over a house in al-Mahatta al-Shimali neighborhood, west of Sere Kaniye, resulting in the death of a member and the wounding of two others.
On March 7, two members of the Turkish-backed Sultan Malak Shah group were killed when an IED planted in a bike, exploded near the village of al-Salhiya in Sere Kaniye, northeast Syria.
Two days later, a car bomb exploded at a checkpoint belonging to the armed groups, in the village of Mabrouka in the countryside of Sere Kaniye, killing at least eight, including civilians, while they were at the checkpoint, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).
On March 21, six people lost their lives and more than five were wounded in an explosion near the Turkish-backed civil police headquarters in Sere Kaniye.
The explosion took place in an ammunition depot of the armed groups, according to the SOHR.
On March 23, at least two people lost their lives in a VBIED explosion near the industrial zone in Sere Kaniye.
On March 29, an IED planted in a car near the Highway in central Sere Kaniye, caused the killing of a member of the armed groups and the wounding of others in addition to causing big damage to the near shops.
Raids and arrests
Early in March, members of the armed groups raided the house of a civilian called, Azam Abdulqadir al-Ibrahim in Hamam Turkman town in the countryside of Tel Abyad, under the pretext of inspection, to find out later that they looted 50 million Syrian Pound (SYP).
Meanwhile, the SOHR reported that the Sultan Murad Brigade arrested a civilian on March 12, and beat him because of his disagreement with the members conducting assessments carried out by the Turkish local council in the region.
The local council works to count houses and grant citizens documents proving their legal right of owning the house, according to the SOHR.
Local sources told North Press that the armed groups raided the house of a Kurdish citizen called Mahmoud Abdo from Jilike village in the countryside of Tel Abyad and beat him and his family members after inspecting the house.
The raiders arrested Abdo after beating him on charges of collaborating with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Turkish forces, while his destiny is still unknown, according to the sources.
Since early 2021, Tel Abyad region has witnessed raids and arrests of members of the region’s clans and civilians.
Trials
During March, the Turkish authorities issued sentences ranging between 5 to 36 years in prison against eight civilians arrested in Sere Kaniye on the Syrian territories and then transferred them to one of its prisons in Urfa city.
Sources close to the detainees’ families told North Press, that the Turkish court charged the detainees of collaborating with the SDF, despite their denial of it, describing it as “ready-made charges.”
Turkish authorities had sentenced Sere Kaniye residents Izzo Khalil al-Majjo and Hussein Mohammad al-Izzo to 20 years, and Muhammed Issa to seven years in prison after their arrest late in 2019, on the same charges.
On February 3, Human Rights Watch issued a report in which it said that Turkey and its affiliated armed opposition groups arrested at least 63 Syrian civilians in northeast Syria and transferred them illegally to Turkey to be tried for serious charges that could result in life imprisonment.