Afrin Kurds in NE Syria welcome US sanctioning Turkish-backed factions
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Afrin Social Association welcomed on Friday the US Department of the Treasury sanctions of Turkish-backed armed factions for committing human rights violations in the city of Afrin, northwest Syria.
On Thursday, the US Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated two factions and three leaders of the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), for committing serious human rights abuses against those residing in Afrin region, north of Aleppo, particularly the Kurds.
The OFAC designated Sultan Suleiman Shah Division (al-Amshat), Hamza Division, al-Amshat leader Muhammad Hussein al-Jassem (Abu Amsha), his younger brother Walid Hussein al-Jassem, Hamza leader Saif Abu Bakr, and the Istanbul-headquartered al-Safir Oto, a car dealership owned by Abu Amsha, for committing “serious human rights abuses” against the people of Afrin, mainly the Kurds.
“Those sanctioned by the US commit all kinds of crimes including abduction for ransom and rape in Afrin,” said Ibrahim Haftaro, an official at the Afrin Social Association. “They are against humanity.”
“We welcome the decision made by the United States government to sanction the leadership of al-Amshat and Hamza,” Haftaro told North Press.
Afrin Social Association was established in the city of Qamishli in northeast Syria in November 2021 to help Afrin IDPs and meet their requirements.
Haftro noted the need for the US government to conduct investigations on other factions such as Sultan Murad.
In 2021, the Department of the Treasury sanctioned Ahrar al-Sharqiya, which operates in many areas in northern Syria including Afrin, along with two of its leaders, Ahmad Ihsan Fayyad al-Hayes and Raed Jassem al-Hayes, for abuses against civilians.
Afrin has been under the occupation of Turkey and the SNA factions since 2018 following a military operation dubbed “Olive Branch” against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of preserving Turkey’s national security.
By Dilsoz Youssef