Turkey-backed MP extorts Kurdish Yazidis in Aleppo’s Tel Rifaat
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – The Turkey-backed Military Police in Tel Rifaat, a town in the northern countryside of Aleppo, has demanded hefty ransoms from Kurdish Yazidi residents recently detained while trying to flee the town following the ofensive of the Turkish-backed armed factions, aka the Syrian National Armey (SNA) on the area, sources said on Sunday.
The required payments, reaching up to $1,200, were imposed as a condition for their release, sources from the town told North Press, adding that the individuals, numbered 22, were arrested during the SNA offensive on the Aleppo northern countryside, locally known as Shahba region, on Nov. 30.
On Nov. 30, the SNA factions initiated “Dawn of Freedom,” operation capturing the town of Tel Rifaat in the north of Aleppo and other villages and IDP camps after clashes with Kurdish forces. The operation displaced thousands of families, many of whom had already been forced to flee Afrin in 2018 following the Turkish “Olive Branch Operation”.
According to sources from North Press, Yazidi residents, originally from Afrin, were subjected to harassment and arbitrary arrests by the Military Police, who detained 22 individuals.
The detainees were accused of collaborating with the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) in the Shahba region.
The arrested individuals were reportedly transferred to detention facilities in Azaz and Afrin. Their release was secured only after paying sums ranging from $500 to $1,200.
The detainees included: Mahmoud Sido Sido, 55, Sidhkan Mahmoud Sido, 28, Saeed Sobhi Sido, 33, Jowan Rashid Bakr Othman, 36, and Nourkhan Khidr Othman, 46.
Despite the releases, three young men remain in custody. They face accusations of working with the Self-Defense Forces affiliated with the Autonomous Administration.