Panorama of Violations – September 2025 in Syrian Areas of Control

Yekiti Media

Overview

This monthly report documents the human rights violations recorded in September 2025 across various areas of control in Syria. The findings highlight continuing abuses—particularly in Turkish-controlled regions—while noting a relative absence of reported violations in territories administered by the Democratic Union Party (PYD).

No Recorded Violations in PYD-Controlled Areas

No human rights violations were documented during September 2025 in regions governed by the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in northern and northeastern Syria.

Ongoing Violations by Turkish-Backed Factions in Afrin

Armed groups affiliated with the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) continue to carry out systematic violations against Kurdish civilians in Afrin and surrounding areas in Syrian Kurdistan. These abuses include kidnappings, forced disappearances, property seizures, and extortion.

On Saturday, September 13, 2025, a unit linked to the Turkish intelligence services (MIT) abducted Mohammed Shukri Habo, a 43-year-old Kurdish man, in the city of Afrin.

Habo, a resident of Sheikh Bilal (Sheikh Blu) village in Rajo district, was kidnapped after arriving in Afrin en route to Aleppo for personal business. His whereabouts remain unknown.

In addition, settlers from other Syrian provinces have illegally occupied Kurdish-owned homes and properties in Afrin.

According to local sources, settlers have been demanding large sums of money—up to USD 5,000—from returning Kurdish families as a condition to vacate their own homes.

Families returning from Turkey, the Kurdistan Region, Lebanon, and other countries face serious barriers reclaiming their property, as local security bodies fail to intervene effectively.

Most settlers are reported to be members of armed factions, justifying their actions by accusing the rightful Kurdish owners of PKK affiliation, enabling further extortion and forced displacement.

Residents express deepening frustration as these violations persist despite the presence of the General Security Service.

Since the 2018 Turkish military invasion of Afrin, international and local rights organizations have documented widespread abductions, arbitrary detentions, ransom demands, and demographic engineering aimed at displacing the indigenous Kurdish population.

Abductions and Enforced Disappearances by the Syrian Interim Government

Elsewhere, Kurdish citizen Hifa Adel Tayyar, originally from Kobani (Ayn al-Arab), was abducted in September while traveling to the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood in Aleppo to visit relatives.

Sources attribute the kidnapping to armed elements of the Syrian Interim Government operating at Deir Hafer–Aleppo checkpoints.

Her family issued an urgent appeal to authorities and human rights organizations to determine her fate, ensure her safety, and secure her immediate release.

In a similar case, Nurhan Jalal, a Kurdish woman from Derik, disappeared after returning from Germany and traveling toward Kobani. She reportedly lost her way near Deir Hafer, and contact with her was lost shortly thereafter. Her status remains unknown.

Conclusion

The ongoing violations—particularly in Turkish-controlled areas—reflect a continued pattern of systematic abuse targeting Kurdish civilians. The lack of accountability and effective governance enables forced displacement, extortion, and arbitrary detention, deepening humanitarian and social instability in the region.