News Center — Kurdish regions in North and East Syria are witnessing a marked escalation in the pace of violations attributed to jihadist members of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, amid growing fears of a worsening humanitarian situation and the return of collective punishment practices that directly target civilians.

Local sources from the village of Khan Mamat in the countryside of Kobani reported that the body of a young man has been lying in the middle of the village for about fifteen days. The shocking scene has sparked widespread anger among residents. According to circulating accounts, the incident followed a verbal altercation between the young man and armed elements, after which he was killed and his body left exposed—an egregious violation of human dignity and of international rules that require respect for the sanctity of the dead and the rights of their families.

Sources told the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Friday, February 20, that members of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, with the participation of local gunmen loyal to them, killed four civilians inside a room in the village and then demolished it on top of them. Residents were prevented from approaching the site or attempting to rescue the victims, which further compounds the seriousness of the violations committed.

Local inhabitants also reported that armed elements confiscated mobile phones from several residents in the village, a step the population viewed as a deliberate attempt to prevent documentation and restrict the circulation of information about the abuses.

The violations did not stop there. Cases of seizure of private property were also recorded, including agricultural harvesters and large transport trucks, causing direct losses to the residents’ sources of livelihood and deepening their economic suffering under the already difficult conditions in the region.

These events reflect an escalating pattern of violations targeting civilians in Kurdish areas, highlighting the urgent need for an independent and transparent investigation, for those responsible to be held accountable, and for guarantees to protect the population from any retaliatory acts or collective punishment, in accordance with the principles of international law and human rights conventions.