Transitional Government Mercenaries Launch Arrest Campaign Against Kurdish Youth in Afrin

Villages in the Afrin countryside are witnessing a systematic arrest campaign targeting Kurdish youth, without any clear charges being brought against them.

Mercenaries of the Turkey-loyal factions affiliated with the so-called Ministry of Defense of the transitional government arrested seven young men from the village of Darwish in the Afrin countryside, in addition to a young man working as a barber in Aleppo who originates from the village of Sheikh Kilo.

According to local information obtained by the Syrian Observatory, a number of detainees are being held in the village of Rota in the Afrin countryside, where these Turkey-backed factions carry out a so-called “settlement” process secretly in the morning, while young men are arrested at night by the military security forces affiliated with the same mercenaries.

These arrests come following the storming of the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, where mercenaries of the transitional government have intensified identity checks and movement inspections, particularly targeting those who previously participated in fighting alongside the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) or those who had prior work with neighborhood councils. This has created a state of fear among residents, who are appealing to the relevant authorities to immediately reveal the fate of their sons.

On December 30, elements of the General Security affiliated with the transitional government mercenaries arrested a young man from the village of Zuq al-Kabir, affiliated with the Sherawa district in the Afrin countryside, while he was present in Aleppo. He was taken to an unknown location without any charges being filed against him, and his family is still awaiting information about his fate.