HRW called on Turkey to open investigation into killing of four in Newroz in Jinderis

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"Three members of an armed faction belonging to the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) opened fire on a Kurdish family in the northern Syrian town of Jinderis on March 20, 2023, as they were celebrating Newroz, the Kurdish New Year," said Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday (March 22) in a statement. Indicating that four civilians from the same family had lost their lives, the organization called Turkey to open an independent and transparent investigation into the event.

Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch emphasized that these killings come after "over five years of unaddressed human rights abuses at the hands of the Turkish forces and the local Syrian factions they empower."

"Turkey has allowed these fighters to abuse people living in the areas under their control with impunity, risking making itself complicit in the violations," Coogle said.

Four died from same family

It was reported that HRW spoke to one of the murdered brothers' surviving siblings, two witnesses to the crime, a neighbor, and a local humanitarian worker in Afrin city near Jinderis, and also reviewed photos of the bodies and videos taken in the aftermath of the fatal shooting.

The four victims are brothers Farhan Din Othman, 43, Ismail Othman, 38, and Mohamed Othman, 42, and Ismail's son Mohamed, 18. Witnesses and a humanitarian worker with direct knowledge of the incident confirmed that the fighters were part of the Jaysh Al-Sharqiyah faction of the Syrian National Army.

"Turkey should cut all support to SNA factions implicated in abuses"

The HRW statement called on Turkey to investigate the killings and to ensure that those responsible are held accountable. Turkey should also cut all support to SNA factions implicated in recurrent or systemic human rights abuses and international humanitarian law violations," said HRW in the statement.

HRW also shared details of the event based on statements of the witnesses.

Accordingly, witnesses said that at around 7 p.m. on March 20, as Kurdish families across the earthquake-damaged Jinderis and the rest of Afrin were celebrating Newroz, a verbal dispute erupted between a member of the Jaysh Al-Sharqiyah faction and Farhan Din Othman in front of his family home. Witnesses said that the fighter ordered Othman to put out a small fire on the roof as part of Newroz celebrations.

HRW also reflected that a fighter then threw a rock at Othman as he was sitting with his nephew outside, went to the faction's neighborhood base, in a house just 15 to 20 meters away, and came back with two other men armed. Witnesses say they saw the men shoot indiscriminately at Farhan Din Othman and other family members who had come out to see what the commotion was about, killing him, and three other family members and injuring two other people. (NT/PE)