RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – A Syrian civilian was tortured to death by Turkish-backed militia in Syria’s northern town of Tal Abyad on the border with Turkey, local sources said on Sunday.<\/p>\n
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Faris Al-Hamidi, a roughly thirty-year-old driver, died after severe torture by Turkish backed militants who abducted him on the charge of working with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).<\/p>\n
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Al-Hamidi was abducted last month in Tal Abyad while he was returning to his home after the Turkish-backed militias seized his hometown in Turkey’s incursion to northern Syria in October 2019.<\/p>\n
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Maher Al-Ayed, a relative of Al-Hamidi, said that the militias informed the family of the news of his death under torture, and that his body to be handed to his family in few days.<\/p>\n
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The Arab-majority sub-district of Tal Abyad, which is part of the Raqqa governorate, has been under the control of Turkey and Turkish-backed groups since Ankara’s military operation in October 2019, which pushed the SDF from the area.<\/p>\n
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Turkey has previously attempted to legitimatize its operation in Tal Abyad, by claiming that the town is majority Arab and that the Kurdish-led forces carried out human rights violations, such as ethnic cleansing against the Arab population, a charge that Kurdish fighters vehemently deny.<\/p>\n
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However, Turkish-backed groups are now accused of committing human rights violations against the residents of Tal Abyad.<\/p>\n
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In April, the Turkish-backed Sultan Suleyman Shah brigade confiscated an agricultural harvester from an Arab family in the town.<\/p>\n
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According to a report of Syrians for Truth and Justice, published in June, Turkish-backed groups have looted 12 grain silos from Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain.<\/p>\n
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Locals in Tal Abyad have protested against arbitrary arrests and the deteriorating living conditions in their town.<\/p>\n
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The local Smart News Agency reported that there were widespread protests in Tal Abyad on Jan. 3 and then on June 5, demanding the release of civilians arrested by Turkish-backed factions. In early June, at least 35 civilians were arrested in two villages of Tal Abyad on charges of dealing with the SDF, a SOHR report said.<\/p>\n
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(Editing by Hisham Arafat)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" RAQQA, Syria (North Press) – A Syrian civilian was tortured to death by Turkish-backed militia in Syria’s northern town of Tal Abyad on the border with Turkey, local sources said on Sunday. Faris Al-Hamidi, a roughly thirty-year-old driver, died after severe torture by Turkish backed militants who abducted him on the charge of working […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40435,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-developments","category-syria"],"yoast_head":"\n