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Brief narrative |
A 25-year-old man from a village near Maabatli village recounted that, following the occupation of Afrin, he was at work when he saw his wife and young children approaching his workplace, visibly fearful. His wife informed him that a group of armed men, identified as members of Al-Amshat faction, including their commander (Abu Hamza), had threatened and forcibly expelled her and her children from their house. When he approached Abu Hamza to discuss the situation and reclaim his home, he faced threats and physical assault at the faction’s headquarters. His motorcycle was also taken. Concerned for their safety, the family sought refuge in his father-in-law’s house in the village of Ikeji in the Sheikh Hadid district.
As of the date of the report they continue to reside there and have had no success in reclaiming their own home. In another case, a resident of the village of Haj Hassanli in the Jenderes district reported that an unidentified armed group forcibly entered his house, threatening him and ordering him to vacate it within 24 hours. They warned of consequences, including death, if he reported the incident, leaving him with no choice but to evacuate his home without taking any personal belongings with him. After living with his father for two months, he approached the armed men occupying his house, offering them $2,000, but they rejected the offer and threatened him with death if he attempted to return home. In desperation, he filed a complaint at the military police station, providing a real estate document proving ownership of the house, but with no result. Fearing for his life, he decided to leave Afrin with his wife and child, seeking refuge in a European country.
The Sultan Murad and Hamzat factions have reportedly played a significant role in seizing houses, utilizing detention and violence to expropriate civilians’ property. In one case, the Sultan Murad faction seized the house and lands of a 51-year-old man with five children from the village of Qara Tappah in the Sharan district. The faction justified their actions by claiming that the residents of the house currently live in Autonomous Administration areas. They cut down over a hundred olive trees, burned the remaining approximately five hundred trees, and repurposed the house as their shelter. Attempts by the owner to engage mediators and individuals close to the Sultan Murad faction in order to regain possession of the house all failed.
In another case reported by YASA and Ceasefire, following the Turkish occupation and takeover of the village of Faqiran by the Hamzat faction, the victim, along with his wife and children, fled when their family home was repurposed as the faction’s headquarters. They sought refuge in his father-in-law’s house, but that too was raided by an armed group affiliated with the Hamzat faction. Nine armed men, under the control of Alaa Abu Najm, stole items from the house, including solar energy equipment, a television screen, and destroyed other belongings, justifying their actions by arguing that the victim’s father-in-law is currently residing in the Autonomous Administration area. The father of the family was detained without any explanation and is currently still believed to be held by the faction. His wife does not know where he is.
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