The YPG and Afrin canton authorities with great responsibility decided to exit the city Afrin in order to avoid further massacres by the occupying Turkish forces and its mercenary allies (DAESH and Free Syrian Army). People left the city and moved to the Sherawa and Shehba areas, after suffering heavy bombings and attacks.

However, some Afrin families who did not want to leave their houses in Afrin city centre and surrounding villages are subjected to the persecution of the Turkish state and its gang allies.

Many families who are still in the city and villages are tortured by gangs and their belongings are confiscated. H.B. family also escaped because of the persecution of the gangs in Afrin and came to the Canton of Shehba. X.H.B told ANF their traumatic experiences. She said that the gangs constantly raided their homes and tortured her husband for many days.

X.H.B., who stated that they were constantly changing villages due to the attacks, said: “We had escaped to Birchika village and after two days, I wanted to go back to my home, but they did not allow me to return to the village, and then we had to go to Basûtê. We stayed there for two weeks. But we could not stay longer, we had to leave again. So I went to my brother's house in Beradê”.

H.B. recalling that the gangs constantly raided her home and tortured her husband, stated: “We have settled in my brother's house, and the gangs come to the house and say to us 'What are you doing here, who said to you you could come back?’ They threatened my husband with death, then took him away and tortured him so much that he could barely stand on his foot afterward”.

X.H.B said that all the houses in the village were plundered by the gangs and added: "They entered the houses in the village and took away what was new and all the goods and chickens of my brother. They stole the sheep of our neighbours and all we could do was stand and watch them. We were so afraid. We couldn’t do anything, just look at them”.

H.B., confirming that the residents in the village could not go out because of the attacks of the gangs, said: "No one can go out after five in the afternoon. They would say to us: ‘stay into your houses and close the doors’. They were coming every night and they were threatening us. I said to my husband that we should go. And on a rainy day we had to abandon our home, at midnight”.