SNA factions arrest 17 people in Syria’s Afrin since early 2023
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Turkish-backed armed Syrian opposition factions, also known as the Syrian National Army (SNA), have arrested 17 people since the beginning of 2023 in Afrin region, in the northern countryside of Aleppo.
Afrin, a Kurdish city in north of Aleppo, has been under the Turkish occupation since March 2018 following the so-called “Olive Branch” Operation, which resulted in the displacement of about 300.000 original inhabitants.
The SNA factions have committed widespread violations against the population of the region since they took control of Afrin. These violations include abduction and extortion, in addition to forcing residents out of their homes, and resettling the factions’ families in the original inhabitants’ houses, according to reports of local and international organizations.
The arrested people included the Kurdish lady Farida Abdu, who was arrested on charges of belonging to the Autonomous Administration.
Five people of al-Baggara tribe (an Arab tribe) were also arrested on charges of targeting the SNA factions, six other people, including a woman, were arrested for unknown reasons, other four individuals were arrested on charges of belonging to the Autonomous Administration, and two others for joining the Kurdish forces.
The arrest toll committed by the SNA factions in Afrin in 2022 reached 560 individuals, including 20 children and 25 women.