Crimes Against Humanity committed by Syrian militia leader recently given prominent position in new Syrian Army exposed in CNN video report

CAFRIN, Syria — In a detailed joint investigation by CNN and the Lelûn Association for Victims, grave allegations implicate current high-ranking officials of Syria’s new military leadership in war crimes committed during Turkey’s years-long occupation of Cafrin (Afrin), a Kurdish-majority region in northwestern Syria.  

The report, published this week, draws on exclusive testimony from survivors, photographs smuggled from secret detention centers, and a years-long archive of human rights documentation. It reveals a pattern of systematic abuses — including kidnapping, torture, and sexual violence — carried out under the command of individuals who are now occupying senior roles in the Syrian Army of the new government.  

At the center of the investigation is Sayf al-Din Boulad, known by his nom de guerre Abu Bakr, a former commander in the Turkish-backed Hamza Division. Despite being under US and European Union sanctions for his role in serious human rights violations, Boulad has recently been appointed to lead a prominent military division in Syria’s most populous province, Holeb (Aleppo), in which Cafrin is located.

“This is an insult to our pain,” said Lonjin Abdo, executive director of the Lelûn Association and one of the principal contributors to the investigation. “It means that my suffering, and the suffering of those who were detained and assaulted with me, is being ignored.”  

Abdo, now 29, fled Syria after enduring years of imprisonment and abuse at the hands of Hamza Division fighters. From exile, she has helped build a network of survivors and human rights defenders, committed to documenting violations and advocating for accountability.  

A Pattern of Abuse — and Promotion 

The CNN video report, headed by investigative reporter Tamar Qiblawi and titled Women Describe Alleged Abuses by Militia Leaders Now in Power, outlines how women from Cafrin and other regions under militia control were subjected to sexual violence and psychological torture. 

Much of this occurred in secret prisons run by factions that later merged into the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) — a force now integrated into the country’s post-conflict military structure.  

“They betrayed the principles of the revolution,” a former member of Boulad’s militia who left the group after learning of the kidnappings told Qiblawi. “I started to think what’s the difference between these people, who call themselves revolutionaries, and the regime of Bashar al-Assad?” 

CNN even managed to detail how the prison was used by the Turkish militias to create propaganda targeting the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), accusing them of abuses they themselves were committing.

One of the most notorious groups named in the Lelûn report is the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade, more commonly known as Al-Amshat, led by Mohammad al-Jasim, known as Abu Amsha. The faction recently withdrew from the Sheikh Hadid district in Cafrin following public outrage and reports of excessive force against local civilians.  

Local administration officials, including Masoud Batal, have since expanded the authority of civilian security forces in the area and opened complaint offices aimed at helping citizens reclaim confiscated property. Still, survivors remain wary of justice.  

“The integration of sanctioned warlords into state institutions sends a terrifying message: that power overrides accountability,” Abdo warned. 

From Occupation to Reintegration  

Cafrin was seized by Turkish forces and its SNA proxies in 2018 during Operation Olive Branch, an offensive that displaced tens of thousands of Kurdish, Yezidis, and Syriac (Aramean–Assyrian–Chaldean) civilians. Over the subsequent years, numerous reports by international and local organizations documented abuses against the local population — including forced displacement, looting, and arbitrary detention — frequently carried out by factions aligned with Turkish intelligence.  

The CNN–Lelûn investigation builds on previous reports with firsthand accounts from women held in secret locations, describing rape, beatings, and psychological degradation. Many of these survivors, now living in exile, participated in the collection of testimony and photographic evidence used in the report.  

Despite this documentation, individuals accused of orchestrating or overseeing such abuses now occupy formal leadership roles in Syria’s post-war military hierarchy.

A Risk to Transitional Justice  

The report’s findings come amid a fragile political transition in Syria. Following the ousting of the long-standing dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad last year and the end of more than a decade of civil war, President Ahmad al-Sharaa promised sweeping reforms, including a commitment to human rights, democratic governance, and the safe return of displaced Syrians — particularly those from Cafrin.  

Now, these promises now face deep scrutiny.  

In entrusting military command to men like Boulad, whose names are synonymous with atrocity in the eyes of many Syrians, critics argue that the current government is undermining the very principles it claims to uphold.  

“This threatens the entire foundation of post-conflict reconciliation,” Abdo said. “You cannot build a peaceful future on the backs of unpunished crimes.”  

Since its founding, the Lelûn Association has worked to collect survivor testimonies and submit documentation to international bodies, hoping for future prosecution of wartime abuses. But so far, concrete judicial action remains elusive.  

“No Justice Without Accountability”  

As Syria attempts to rebuild and rejoin the international community, questions loom large over whether justice will be served — or sacrificed for political expediency.  

“The risk of impunity is real,” the Lelûn Association warned in a public statement. “Granting official posts to individuals accused of war crimes endangers the legitimacy of any future government and undermines trust among victims and communities who endured unimaginable horrors.”  

With survivors now speaking out publicly, often at great personal risk, the hope remains that the truth will fuel both awareness and action. But for many, like Abdo and the women she represents, the fight is far from over.  

“We will continue to speak,” she said. “Because silence would mean surrendering to the very forces that tried to destroy us.”