Turkey turns ‘blind eye’ to abuse by Syrian rebels in Afrin
Turkey is turning a blind eye to kidnap, torture, extortion and looting by Syrian armed groups against civilians in the northern Syrian city of Afrin, human rights groups say.
Turkish forces and Syrian rebel groups invaded Afrin in January to push out the People’s Protection Units (YPG), a Syrian Kurdish militia that Ankara regards as a terrorist group.
In a report on Thursday, Amnesty International accused Turkey’s armed forces of giving the rebel fighters “free rein” to commit crimes against residents and turning a “blind eye” to the violations.
A report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said this week that as many as 1,000 people have been detained by rebel forces since they completed their takeover of the Kurdish-majority territory.
The reports said dozens of witnesses in the city and many who have fled described lawlessness and impunity among armed groups six months after they swept into the city.
“Turkey’s military offensive and occupation have exacerbated the suffering of Afrin residents, who have endured years of bloody conflict,” said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty’s Middle East research director.
“We heard appalling stories of people being detained, tortured or forcibly disappeared by Syrian armed groups, who continue to wreak havoc on civilians, unchecked by Turkish forces.”
A Turkish diplomatic source said the claims were unfounded and that reports of looting “were promptly investigated and necessary measures were immediately taken by the Turkish Armed Forces”.
Operation Olive Branch, as it was named by Ankara, led to the displacement of more than 100,000 people, mostly Kurds, from the area.
Since the end of the offensive in March, Turkey has made efforts to bring normality to Afrin, opening schools and hospitals, and investing in infrastructure, Amnesty said.
But while many Syrians welcomed Turkey’s presence, the Kurdish majority who used to live in the area regard it as an occupation.
The arrival of Arab and Turkmen families has led to fears among Kurds of permanent displacement.
Turkey claims that about 80,000 residents have returned to Afrin, but the UN says almost 134,000 people remain displaced in surrounding towns and villages. Many are afraid to return, and the YPG is preventing others from going back, Amnesty said.
Family members of those detained by rebels said many were taken on suspicion of involvement with the YPG, an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has fought a guerrilla war in Turkey’s south-east since the 1980s.
Arin, a former resident of Afrin who fled during the Turkish invasion, told The National that her uncle was detained by rebels and has not been seen in four months.
“He went back to his home 10 days after the Afrin invasion, but it had been taken over and turned into a military base by the rebels,” Arin said by phone from Kobani, a Kurdish city in Syria’s north-east.
“He asked the soldiers if he could check on it and they took him in his own car. From that day, he disappeared. Two guys later came to his wife and told her they were keeping the car.”
One man who was held in a jail in the border town of Azaz told Amnesty that he saw beatings of detainees by Syrian rebels.
The UK-based Observatory documented similar abuses. It said civilians were “investigated, tortured and insulted”.
Amnesty said locals had reported at least 86 cases of arbitrary detention, torture and enforced disappearance. The Observatory said 1,000 people had been detained, of whom more than half were released after paying bribes or ransoms.
Since its forces were ousted from the Afrin region, the YPG has carried out hit-and-run attacks on Turkish and Syrian rebel forces there. In recent weeks, those attacks appear to have increased.
The group claimed to have killed more than a dozen Turkish-backed fighters in the last few days of July.
Amnesty said it was Turkey’s responsibility as the occupying power to protect civilians in Afrin.
“Without further delay, Turkey must end violations by pro-Turkish armed groups, hold perpetrators accountable and commit to helping Afrin residents rebuild their lives,” Ms Maalouf said.