'More than 1,000 women kidnapped in Syria's Afrin since Turkey's capture'

Photo: HDP/File

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Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Feleknas Uca has submitted a parliamentary question to Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu about rights violations in Afrin, a Kudish city in Syria's north west.

Citing UN reports, Uca said, "Afrin has become a center of looting, robbery, rape and ethnic cleansing and more than 1,000 women have been kidnapped" since Turkey and its allied groups in Syria captured the city after a military operation in early 2018.

"What happened to the kidnapped women is unknown," Uca said.

"According to a statement by NGOs in Afrin, 84 women were murdered between March 18, 2018 and March 25, 2021. Six of the women took their own lives and the crime of sexual assault was committed against 71 women.

"The Afrin Human Rights Association stated that crimes against women and war crimes have continued since the attacks of the Turkish Armed Forces and the groups it supported began."

The MP asked the minister how many women had been kidnapped or disappeared since March 2018 and what happened to the women imprisoned by groups supported by Turkey.

She also asked whether the government is investigating or plans to take measures against kidnappings.

What happened in Afrin?

On January 20, 2018, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) started the "Operation Olive Branch" into Afrin. The Syrian National Army (SNA), an armed group backed by Turkey, also took part in the operation intended to remove the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) from the city.

As of March 26, 2018, Turkey and its allied groups captured Afrin and its surrounding areas, including 282 villages.

During the offensive, 85 TSK soldiers, 604 SNA members, 584 YPG/SDF members, and 91 soldiers from Syria's army were killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). (RT/VK)