According to the information received from local sources, the Military Police, a paramilitary criminal apparatus established by the Turkish state in the occupied regions, kidnapped 6 citizens in the Jindires district of Afrin. The detainees were taken to Marat detention centre in Afrin.

Reports say that a ransom of 2 thousand dollars is demanded from the families of the detainees for the release of each of them.

The Human Rights Organisation-Afrin reported that a week ago, Turkish-backed mercenaries kidnapped Mihemed Henan (37) in front of his uncle's house in Ashrifiye neighbourhood of Afrin and took him to an unknown place.

On the other hand, the mercenaries abducted Mihemed Dawud (38), a resident of Jala village in the Rajo district, from a house in Ashrafiyah neighbourhood a month ago.

Mistefa Şaban (40) and Xelil Şêx Sidi from Badina village in Mabeta district were also abducted by the occupation forces.

According to the Syrian Organisation for Human Rights, at least 10,332 people were abducted and 463 people were killed between 2018 and April 2024.

Afrin Canton was the westernmost canton of Rojava and North and East Syria, home to 200,000 ethnic Kurds. Though the population was overwhelmingly Kurdish, it was home to diverse religious groups including Yazidis, Alevis and Christians alongside Sunni Muslims.

On 20 January 2018, Turkey launched air strikes on 100 locations in Afrin, as the onset of an invasion they dubbed ‘Operation Olive Branch.’

The Turkish Air Force indiscriminately shelled civilians as well as YPG/YPJ positions, while a ground assault was carried out by factions and militias organised under the umbrella of the Turkish-backed National Army.

By 15 March, Turkish-backed militias had encircled Afrin city and placed it under artillery bombardment. A Turkish airstrike struck the city’s only functioning hospital, killing 16 civilians.

Civilians fled and the SDF retreated, and by 18 March Turkey was in de facto occupation of Afrin. Between 400 and 500 civilians died in the invasion, overwhelmingly as a result of Turkish bombing. Other civilians were summarily executed in the field.

Prior to the Turkish invasion, Afrin had been one of the most peaceful and secure parts of Syria, virtually never seeing combat during the civil war but occasional skirmishes between YPG/YPJ and jihadist forces on its borders. As a result, Afrin offered peaceful sanctuary to over 300,000 internally displaced people from elsewhere in Syria.