Turkish-backed SNA arrests 79 people in NE Syria in July – local NGO
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, also known as Syrian National Army (SNA), arrested, during July, more than 79 people, including four women, from Turkish-occupied areas of Afrin, Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tel Abyad in north and northeast Syria.
Synergy Association said in a detailed report that 63 individuals, including two women, were arrested by the SNA in Afrin, and 16 others in Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyed.
13 of the abovementioned detainees have been released, among them two women till the moment, while the fate of the rest is unknown.
Hevdestî (Synergy) is a non-profit organization including journalists, human rights activists and researchers from Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyad and aims to document the violations committed in the two cities by the SNA.
In 2018, Turkey launched “Olive Branch” operation, with the support of Syrian opposition factions, against the city of Afrin which ended with the occupation of the city and the surrounding villages displacing hundreds of thousands of original inhabitants.
In October 2019, the Turkish forces, with the support of the SNA factions, launched the Operation “Peace Spring” against Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyad under the pretext of pushing the fighters of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) away from the Turkish border with Syria.
The report pointed out that the detainees were arbitrarily seized under the pretext of many charges, saying, “Some were accused of dealing with the Autonomous Administration or formerly working in its institutions. Others were accused of trying to cross to Turkey illegally. Some others were arrested merely because they belong to the Kurdish community or to extort their families and get a ransom.”
The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the SDF defeated ISIS militarily there.
16 detainees from Afrin were arrested being charged with dealing with the AANES, as two of them were released after their families paid ransoms to the Military Police, according to the report.
In one single case, a young man was detained after he refused to give up his house to an armed group affiliated with the SNA. However, they release him the next day after forcing him to sign a document in which he pledged to hand his house over to them, Synergy documented.
In addition, the arbitrary arrests included, “A person in Ras al-Ayn/Serê Kaniyê was arrested for chanting anti-SNA slogans in a peaceful demonstration denouncing the deteriorating security and living conditions in “Peace Spring” territory.”
Synergy Association stressed that the actual number of arrests is much more than this.
Following the Turkish “Peace Spring” operation, Turkey signed two ceasefire agreements, one with Russia and the other with the US.
The agreements stipulate halt of all hostilities there and the withdrawal of the SDF 30 km in depth away from the Turkish border in addition to conducting Turkish-Russian joint patrols in order to monitor the implementation of the agreements.
Regarding violations committed by the SNA factions against civilians, it is proved that the SNA is involved in committing arbitrary and illegal arrests that do not commit to prisoners’ rights in accordance with international legal obligations.
“Such practices were commonly conducted as a means of extracting information from detainees, such as those arrested for racial affiliation, their exercise of freedom of expression or their explicit criticism of these forces … Such conduct may be part of a systematic attack against the detainees in its custody, amounting to the crimes against humanity of torture,” Synergy Association documented.
Turkey is obliged to maintain safety and security in areas held by it, especially towards women and children. Since the SNA factions operates under the umbrella of Turkey, Turkish military commanders must be held as accountable for violations committed by these factions.
Thus, “If Turkish forces do not intervene to stop torture, when they are present at the time of torture or when they are informed about, they may be violating Turkey’s obligations to the Fourth Geneva Convention,” the non-governmental organization added.
A few days ago, Synergy Association published a detailed report in which it shed light on the frequent infighting between the SNA factions, resulting in casualties and a state of insecurity in northeast Syria.