The U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed a new round of sanctions on Syrian entities and personalities, including the Turkish-backed militia Ahrar al-Sharqiya that committed war crimes and serious violations against civilians and integrated former Islamic State members into its ranks.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Media Center issued a statement on the sanctions saying that they “are welcoming these actions and considering them to be compatible with the calls of human rights organizations and the first step towards comprehensive accountability for all crimes committed by this militia and its leaders against the population in the north and eastern Syria and all other Syrian regions, including Idlib and Aleppo. We call on the international community and human rights organizations to continue political and legal pressure on other similar organizations and their supporters regarding the crimes committed by them and call on them to provide redress for the victims, especially in the occupied areas in northern Syria.”
The statement added: “It is no secret the dark catalog of the “Ahrar al-Sharqiya” militia since its founding by the terrorist Abu Maria al-Qahtani, a former leader in Jabhat al-Nusra, with a history full of war crimes especially in Afrin, Tal Abyad, and Ras al-Ain, the most recent was the execution of the politician Hevrin Khalaf and a large number of health workers and civilians. Therefore, despite the importance of the recent U.S. sanctions on the terrorist militia, we believe that the level of the crimes of that militia urgently calls for comprehensive and swift international action to gather more evidence and listen to the victims, and to initiate legal proceedings to bring the militia’s leaders and elements to the international tribunals.”