IDPs demonstrate against Turkish-backed armed opposition’s violations in Afrin

Northern Aleppo countryside – North-Press Agency
Dijla Khalil

On Monday, Afrin IDPs residing in the northern countryside of Aleppo protested against violations that women are exposed to in the prisons of the Turkish-backed armed opposition groups in Afrin.

Participants in the demonstration, which started in the village of Tel Sosin, raised banners reading "No to violations, no to torture and kidnapping of women" and "No to the Turkish occupation", demanding accountability for armed groups that commit violations and the expulsion of Turkish forces and their affiliated armed opposition groups from the Afrin region.

Julina Nebo, an IDP from the Afrin region, told North-Press that the demonstration was a condemnation of what female abductees are exposed to in the prisons of Turkish-backed armed opposition groups, calling on international and humanitarian organizations to reveal their fate and hold perpetrators accountable in international courts.

Afrin IDP Berivan Hussain added that women in Afrin have been subjected to violations for more than two years, including being forced to veil, kidnapping, rape, and abuse.

Last Thursday, Afrin witnessed confrontations between al-Hamzat Division and Ahrar al-Sham, (both Turkish-backed armed opposition groups), in which a number of civilians were killed. Locals entered the headquarters of al-Hamzat Division and found eight women detained inside who were previously abducted.

Last Sunday, the Violations Documentation Center in Northern Syria said in a report that Turkish forces and their affiliated armed opposition groups arrested 6,420 people in Afrin from the 18th of March 2018 to the end of May this year.