Reports that showed two Yazidis men “converting to Islam” in the presence of a sheikh of western Aleppo, revived fears that the few remaining Yazidis in Afrin would be forced to convert to Islam. It also reminded the Afrin community by the widespread violations that the Kurds and Yazidis in Afrin had been subjected since the Turkish Operation ‘Olive Branch’ …
Read More »Syria/Afrin: The U.S. Government Response to the Jindires Crime
The killing of four Kurdish individuals in Syria’s town of Jinderes in the Afrin region, northwest of the country, sparked a massive wave of indignation and denunciation in Syria and abroad. Syrians and Kurds across the country and Europe protested to express solidarity with the victims’ families and their demands. The families called for holding the perpetrators accountable, providing surviving …
Read More »Syria: Independent International Commission of Inquiry Reports Human Rights Violations in Afrin
On 13 March 2023, the International Commission of Inquiry on Syria issued its report on the status of human rights and relevant violations in the country between 1 July and 31 December 2022. The 44-page report builds on 467 direct interviews, carried out physically or online, covering various forms of human rights violations perpetrated by all parties to the conflict …
Read More »Syria/Afrin: Protests Held Worldwide Condemning the Jindires Crime
Renouncing the Killings of four Kurdish civilians on the 2023 Newroz Eve in Jinderes town by members of the al-Sharqiya Army faction, after they lit Nowruz fires in front of their house, a number of Syrian and Kurdish activists around the world organized several initiatives and various activities across European and Arab capital cities. These activities included peaceful protests and …
Read More »Syria: Satellite Images Reveal Extensive Logging in 114 Forest Patches in Afrin
Executive Summary In this report, Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ) and Lêlûn Association for Victims in Afrin reveal illegal logging operations in 114 forest sites in Syria’s Kurdish-majority region of Afrin. Based on the extent of the concentration of tree-cover loss, STJ monitored: High degradation of the forests in (57) locations, where perpetrators cleared the forests almost trees entirely. …
Read More »“Oral Epic Literature in Afrin” during the Qamishli seminar
To highlight the importance of “oral literature” in the lives of peoples and nations, a member of the “Lelûn Association for Victims”, the writer “Walid Bakr” from his place of forced displacement in the city of Qamishli / Qamishlo, gave a lecture devoted to talking about “Oral Literature in Afrin”, in the presence of a number of intellectuals and who …
Read More »Syria/Afrin: 155 Syrian Organizations Condemn the Killing of Kurdish Civilians on the Eve of Celebrating Newroz
On the eve of Newroz, corresponding to March 20, 2023, some fighters of Jaysh al-Sharqiya Faction/The Construction and Liberation Movement, affiliated with the Turkish-backed opposition Syrian National Army (SNA), killed four unarmed Kurdish civilians in Jindires city in Afrin countryside, northwestern Syria, on the backdrop of celebrating Newroz Day and lighting its bonfire; one of the most essential rituals adopted …
Read More »Press Release: Activists Launch Lêlûn Association for Victims in Afrin
We are a group of activists from the Afrin region. We decided to establish the Lêlûn Association for Victims to bring all victims from Afrin together and support them. We also seek to coordinate redress and justice efforts with other victim associations across Syria. Our objectives are justice and restoring rights to their owners. Therefore, we intend to turn Lêlûn …
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