SILVA AL-IBRAHIM

Hasakah- On December 6, 2024, the Turkish state and Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) launched an offensive in Marbij, forcing hundreds of families to flee to different cities of North and East Syria. Since they took control of the city, the Turkish-backed armed groups have used inhuman practices against the people such as theft, plunder, harassment, rape, killing and kidnapping.

They have stolen the doors, windows and electric cables and wires of some civilian houses and hospital equipment; one of the hospitals looted by them is the newly built hospital on Al-Rabita Street in Manbij. In addition, they have also stolen all the building materials of the Ghassaniya school, which was rebuilt after the liberation of the city from ISIS. The armed groups have also kidnapped civilians and demanded ransoms for their release. The relatives of the kidnapped people told NuJINHA that the armed groups demanded a lot of money from them to release their relatives.

Crimes against women

The armed groups have committed crimes against women in the city, kidnapping, raping and killing women. At the beginning of this week, two women kidnapped and released by the armed groups were killed by their male relatives in the name of “honor”. A video shared on social media platforms shows how a young woman is killed by her brother.

‘My house has been rented out someone else’

Ş.H. is one of the women displaced from Manbij on December 8, 2024 due to the attacks of the Turkish state and Turkish-backed factions. She fled Manbij with her family members without taking anything and took shelter in Kobanê. “My son went to Manbij to check the condition of our house. However, our house has been seized by the armed groups and rented out to someone else. The house of my daughter has also been seized and rented out to someone else by the armed groups. The families settled in our houses demand $3,000 from us to leave. The doors of our houses were broken and all our belongings were stolen.”

The city of Manbij is full of armed groups, said Ş.H. “The real residents of the city are not in the city. Taxi drivers, shopkeepers and merchants are the members of the armed groups and their families.” Ş.H. has already applied to the relevant institutions to demand her house back. “The members of the armed groups told me that I had to go to Aleppo and make an application to the institutions led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). I went to the courthouse in Aleppo. The next day, a group consisting of the members of the armed groups visited me and told me they would give me back the house but I had to wait for a while.”

After waiting for a long time, Ş.H. decided to go to Manbij with her son. “We were told that our house would be given back to us. My daughter and her husband also went to Manbij; however, the tenants kicked them out of the house, threatening them with arrest. The person who seized our house then threatened my son and me to destroy our house if we entered. The members of the armed groups have violated the rights of the residents of the city, looting their houses. Even if they claim that citizens’ rights are protected by law, the citizens are humiliated in the most disgusting ways.”

‘The Turkish state and its armed groups are responsible’

The people of Manbij demand a dignified and safe return to their city, emphasized Ş.H. “We demand the withdrawal of the Turkish state and its armed groups from our city. The Turkish state and its armed groups are responsible for the chaos and violations in Manbij.”