Syria’s Kurds to try fighters accused of property damage
Arrested quartet ‘have been stripped of YPG membership’
BEIRUT // Syria’s leading Kurdish militia said yesterday it had arrested – and would prosecute – four of its fighters accused of damaging property in a town reclaimed from ISIL. The announcement came after accusations by activists and Amnesty International of abuses by Kurdish forces against mostly Arab residents of areas recaptured from ISIL in northern Syria.
The Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) said four of its members had been arrested “on accusations of damaging the property of citizens of Al Hol and some surrounding villages. At the end of an investigation and interrogation, they have been stripped of their YPG membership and will face prosecution before a court,” the YPG said.
It identified the four men only by their initials, and released images of them taken from behind.
Al Hol, in Syria’s north- eastern Hassakeh province, was captured from ISIL by a coalition of Kurdish and Arab fighters in November. The arrests come after persistent reports of tensions between the powerful YPG and Arab residents in parts of northern Syria where the militia has led the fight against ISIL, backed by US-led air strikes.
In October, Amnesty accused Kurdish forces of carrying out forced displacement and home demolitions in Syria’s north and north-east that it said amounted to war crimes.
It said Kurdish forces had carried out a “campaign of collective punishment” of residents in villages previously held by ISIL, who were mostly Arabs. The YPG denounced the accusations and noted its alliances with Arab fighters against ISIL, which it said “removed all doubt” that it would discriminate against any ethnic group.
Amnesty and activists have also accused Kurdish forces of refusing to allow residents to return to their villages after the expulsion of ISIL forces.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said demonstrations had been held in recent days by residents of Al Hol demanding to be allowed to return.
Kurdish forces said residents were prevented from returning to their homes only if there was a risk of renewed ISIL infiltration or if there were operations to clear explosive devices.
Meanwhile, the future of a planned Syrian peace process looked increasingly uncertain yesterday after the United Nations said it would not issue invitations for the next round of talks, due to begin on January 25, until major powers reached agreement on which rebel representatives should attend.
“At this stage, the UN will proceed with issuing invitations when the countries spearheading the ISSG [International Syria Support Group] process come to an understanding on who among the opposition should be invited,” UN spokesman Farhan Haq said on Monday.
Saudi Arabia, a foe of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad, said yesterday that no one should dictate to the Syrian opposition who should represent them at the talks.
“The Syrian opposition is the party that decides who represents it in the talks, and the higher committee that emerged from the Riyadh conference is the concerned party and they are the ones who decide who represents them in the talks,” said Saudi foreign minister Adel Al Jubeir.
“No other party is allowed to impose on the Syrian opposition who represents them in the talks with Bashar Al Assad.”