A faction of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) arrested around 13 civilians from a village in the northwestern city of Afrin over baseless accusations in order to collect ransoms, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Friday.
The civilians were accused of “insulting Turkey”, “dealing with the former [Kurdish-led] Autonomous Administration”, and “not fasting during Ramadan”, the Muslim fasting period, the war watchdog said, adding that the majority of those arrested were released after paying ransoms ranging from $100 to $1,000.
Al-Sultan Muhammad Al-Fateh faction of the SNA is known for their plunder and ransom schemes in the region. Since the Turkish military occupation of Afrin in 2018, Islamic militants have been accused of seizing properties from the locals.
In another incident, the same faction took over agricultural fields belonging to civilians who had been arbitrarily displaced to the northern countryside of Aleppo. A commander of the faction confiscated a civilian’s car, claiming that the vehicle had been used to transport members of the former Kurdish-led Autonomous Administration in Afrin. The civilian was then forced to pay $1,500 to retrieve his car.
According to SOHR, these incidents are examples of the ongoing harassment by the Turkish-backed National Army forces, who are reportedly trying to push Kurdish population to emigrate from Kurdish-majority Afrin and to confiscate their properties.
