 reported on Friday that over 600 human rights violations were documented during 2024 in Syria's Afrin district, which has been under the control of Turkish forces and their allied factions since 2018.){kind=link}
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on Friday that over 600 human rights violations were documented during 2024 in Syria’s Afrin district, which has been under the control of Turkish forces and their allied factions since 2018.
SOHR has urged the international community to intervene to protect civilians from systematic abuses.
The violations include incidents of violence, property seizure, imposition of levies and assaults. SOHR recorded 133 fatalities, comprising 38 civilians, 37 combatants and one Islamic State in Syria (ISIS) commander. Among the civilians killed were eight children and three women, with some deaths attributed to Turkish-backed factions and others to Turkish forces, Kurdish forces and unknown perpetrators.
SOHR stated that Afrin experienced 22 instances of factional infighting and six explosions in 2024, resulting in 25 deaths and numerous people injured. Additionally, violations included 243 cases of levies imposed on civilians, 111 incidents of property seizure and 28 cases of forced property sales by Turkish-backed factions.
The rights group noted the ongoing demographic changes in Afrin, citing the establishment of new residential complexes backed by Turkish organizations. SOHR also reported the excavation and destruction of archaeological sites and other violations.