U.S.-designated SNA faction assaults protesting women in Syria’s Afrin
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – A faction of the Turkish-backed armed opposition, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), laid siege on Sunday to a village in the countryside of Afrin, northwestern Syria, after assaulting a women’s protest.
The Sultan Suleiman Shah Division (al-Amshat) faction has laid siege since Sunday afternoon on the village of Kakhra (Yakhour) in the west of Afrin.
The action follows a violent crackdown on a women’s protest against the faction’s repeated transgressions in the area.
The protest, held outside the faction’s security headquarters in the village, was met with a brutal response from militants of the al-Amshat faction.
Eyewitnesses reported that women demonstrators were attacked with bats and live ammunition.
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.
The operation caused the displacement of about 300,000 of the original inhabitants of the Kurds of Afrin who have been taking shelter in 42 villages and five camps in Aleppo northern countryside, locally known as Shahba region, since then.
North Press correspondent reported the protest erupted in response to the faction’s recent imposition of new taxes on olive trees and harvests, which has led to the arrest of young men and individuals unable to pay.
There are unconfirmed reports of several women being injured and one person killed during the crackdown.
The situation has deteriorated further as the faction has cut off internet access to the village and imposed a full blockade.
The al-Amashat faction, predominantly composed of Turkmen, has previously facilitated the entry of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS once known as al-Nusra Front) into Afrin and the surrounding Aleppo countryside.
In August 2023, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated the al-Amshat for committing “serious human rights abuses” against the people of Afrin, mainly the Kurds.