Amnesty annual report documents Turkish and SNA crimes in Tel Abyad, Rish Ayno, and Afrin

NORTH AND EAST SYRIA – Amnesty International’s annual report for the year 2019 documents the crimes carried out by Turkish forces and their Syrian National Army partners in the occupied regions of North Syria.

The Syrian National Army (SNA), a collection of militias, including several espousing Islamist ideologies, formed and funded by Turkey, acted as Turkey’s force on the ground during its Syrian operations.

Amnesty’s report documented the death of 180 civilians in the period between 9–20 October 2019 when Turkey and the SNA invaded North Syria, occupying an area of land between and including the cities of Tel Abyad and Rish Ayno (Ras al-Ayn).

The report details the “indiscriminate” targeting of residential areas including homes, schools, and bakeries.

The report also highlighted the brutal torture and murder of female Kurdish politician Hevrin Khalaf and her bodyguards along the M4 highway by the SNA during the joint Turkish–SNA invasion. Video footage of the murders spread widely over social media. Despite clear evidence showing the identities of the perpetrators and their militia, no one has been held accountable for the murders.

According to the report, Turkey and the SNA seized property from people in the cities of Tel Abyad, Rish Ayno, and Afrin and turned homes into military headquarters. Civilians were also prevented from returning to their homes if they had left the city during the fighting.

Amnesty stated that the investigation committee of the United Nations stressed that the majority of the people of the occupied cities have been forced to pay a financial ransom to the SNA to recover stolen belongings and that olive farmers have had to pay exorbitant taxes on their crops.

Amnesty also confirmed that the SNA has abducted civilians in order to obtain ransom money from their families, as a means to obtain their property, or to claim that they belong to the Syrian Democratic Forces.