ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - More than 200 Kurds are currently being held in prisons across Afrin, northwestern Syria, due to their ethnicity and perceived ties to the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria (Rojava), a local official told Rudaw on Monday, warning of continuing rights violations in the Kurdish-majority enclave.
Ahmed Hassan, head of the local council for the Kurdish National Council (KNC/ENKS), stated, “At least 200 Kurds are imprisoned in Afrin. Being Kurdish is the main reason, and most of the accusations relate to supposed connections with the [Democratic] Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES).” He emphasized that these individuals are being detained because of “politicization and their Kurdish identity.”
Hassan noted that although the situation in Afrin is “gradually improving,” it has not yet returned to normal. He said the region is currently controlled by authorities and factions affiliated with the new Syrian leadership. “Alongside the Damascus government, several armed groups also maintain control and make independent decisions,” he added.
He also noted that armed groups have seized more than 50 homes belonging to Kurds in a predominantly Shiite district near Afrin. These groups are refusing to return the properties and, in some cases, are demanding payments ranging from $1,000 to over $2,000, Hassan claimed, adding that “the houses have been emptied, but the groups refuse to give them back to their Kurdish owners.”
Afrin, a Kurdish enclave in northwestern Syria, was taken over by Turkey and its allied Syrian armed groups in 2018. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds were displaced, with many relocating to the nearby Shahba region. Meanwhile, families displaced from other parts of Syria were resettled in Afrin.
Since the takeover, international organizations have documented numerous human rights violations against Afrin’s Kurdish population, including kidnappings, killings, looting of agricultural land, destruction of olive groves, and the imposition of arbitrary taxes on farmers.
Regarding the return of Arab settlers, Hassan said the process is “underway,” but noted that “more than 20 percent of the settlers have yet to return” to their original hometowns. He added that while the return of displaced Kurdish residents is also ongoing, “significant obstacles remain.”
Soran Hussein contributed to this article.
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