Lelun Afrin

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria Report was issued on 12th September 2023. It consists of 39 pages, covers the period from 1st January to 30th June 2023, and based its methodology on 447 direct interviews, conducted either in person or remotely, talks about the most violations committed throughout the Syrian geography by various parties of the conflict. …

After the Turkish “Olive Branch” operation, I returned to the Afrin region. My return was not intentional. Fate took me to hands and lands that I had never known. Afrin was only a name. I can believe the fact that I did not feel that it was the land on whose soil I was born and whose bounties I ate, …

Armed factions under various names affiliated with the Syrian National Army are continuing to commit violations against most of the indigenous people of the Afrin region without any respect or consideration for the difficult living situation experienced by the people. Especially, those recently return from displacement places to their villages and farms, trying to regain their homes and lands. But …

On June 29, 2023, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 301/77, which established the “Independent Institution for Missing Persons” and was delegated the task of “to clarify the fate and whereabouts of all missing persons in the Syrian Arab Republic and to provide adequate support to victims, survivors and the families of those missing, in close cooperation and complementarity …

The Afrin region witnessed continued violations by armed factions affiliated with the Syrian National Army against indigenous residents and those returning to their villages and cities from displacement places, as they demanded from some returnees to pay financial ransoms ranging from 200 to 5000 US dollars per person, according to the charge against him/her, under the pretext of regulating their …

As a result of the worsening cases of extreme poverty in displacement places, indigenous families were recently forced to return to their villages and homes in Afrin region, most of whom are from Aleppo, Lebanon, and Shahba areas. According to what some of people returning to the region told Lelun, the reason is due to the poor economic conditions, the …

Since the “Olive Branch” operation started in 2018, Afrin region has been subjected to a series of systematic violations, for several reasons, including those that occur deliberately and target the indigenous population, and others as a result of the security chaos. Many people refrain from claiming their rights or filing complaints after they have been subjected to any violations, for …

“Five years have passed, and I am still waiting for him, counting the hours and minutes of every day passes until the time for the meeting comes, then I return empty-handed without any news about him. I do not know if he is alive or dead, but something tells me not to lose hope.” This is how “Sarah/a pseudonym” describes …

The undersigned Syrian organizations welcome the decision of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of 17 August 2023 to designate the two Syrian armed groups, the Suleiman Shah Brigade (known as al-Amshat) and the Hamza Division (known as al-Hamzat). The two groups are connected with serious human rights violations against the Kurdish community in the Afrin …

I am now in my mid-forties, a mother of four children, three boys and a girl. I now live in Aleppo city, after we were displaced from my village, as a result of our trip to the “Shahba” area before that, and because of my husband’s health condition, which forced us to move. Man doesn’t know what he has to …