Extremist group arrests Yazidi villagers

Armed men belonging to the Islamist group Faylaq Al-Sham (Al-Sham Battalion), which is affiliated to the Muslim Brotherhood, launched a series of arrests in several Yazidi villages near Afrin in Northwest Syria on 4 December.

CSW sources report that five men were arrested in the village of Basofan and taken to a detention centre in a nearby village called Iskan. The men were named as Ali Kazem Ali, 22; Basel Hussein, 22; Samer Hussein, 35; Delbrin Aarbo and Ahmed Hindi, 32. The Islamist group accused the detainees of joining the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a Kurdish political party whose military wing has been fighting Turkey.

According to CSW sources, Mr Aarbo was particularly badly beaten and released a few hours after his arrest because he was bleeding severely. Mr Aarbo had previously been the subject of an assassination attempt when armed men from Failaq Al-Sham shot him twice in the abdomen on 30 April 2020. He had reportedly refused to evacuate his home in Basofan when an Islamist commander tried to confiscate it.

The group also arrested a number of civilians in the nearby villages of Kabashin and Baaya. CSW sources suggest that the arrests are part of an ongoing campaign to terrorise local Yazidis and force them to leave or convert to Islam.

CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: “CSW is alarmed by these arrests which highlight the ongoing violations faced by the Yazidi community in Afrin. We call on Turkey in particular to restrain the extremist groups functioning under its command and to ensure that the rights of all those living in Afrin are fully upheld and respected regardless of their religion or belief. We also call on the international community to maintain intense scrutiny on the situation in Afrin, holding those responsible for violations of human rights to account.”

On 5 December the Grand Priest of Lalish Temple, Baba Shawish pleaded with the international community to help the Yazidis of Afrin region to return to their homes. He said: “Everyone has been treated badly in Afrin, but it was worse for the Yazidis because of their religion.”