SNA factions force 2 Yazidi men to convert to Islam in Syria’s Afrin
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Recently, a video has been circulated in Afrin, northwest Syria, in which two Yazidi men appeared with an unidentified sheikh, announcing their conversion to Islam. The video sparked controversy on social media.
Ali Isso, executive director of Ezdina Foundation, wrote on his Facebook page, “The two people, who are residents of the village of Qibar [in Afrin], were subjected to blackmail and a choice between imprisonment or conversion to Islam.”
“The video was filmed inside one of the headquarters of the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, also known as Syria National Army (SNA), in Afrin,” he added.
The two people are Sheikh Aref and Haider Aref, while the sheikh who appeared with them is called “Ziyuk”, according to Isso.
The video is “documentary of all the testimonies that some Yazidis submitted to the International Investigation Committee earlier, in which they repeatedly confirmed that they were given the choice between arrest or conversion to Islam, and some of them were severely tortured for refusing to convert to Islam,” according to Esso.
While other pages on social media said, “The truth is known to everyone, but the video proves the involvement of the SNA factions in changing the city’s features in all respects.”
The city of Afrin and its countryside were occupied by Turkey in 2018 following military operation “Olive Branch” to push away the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of protecting Turkey’s “national security.”
The operation caused the displacement of about 300,000 of the original inhabitants of the Kurds of Afrin who have been taking shelter in 40 villages and five camps in Shahba region since then.