One of the armed Syrian opposition factions known as the "Syrian National Army" carried out a campaign of arrests against young Yazidis in one of the villages of the occupied countryside of Afrin.
The monitoring team of the Ezdina in Afrin reported that, "Al-Sham Legion" militants arrested 7 young men, 6 of them belong to the Yazidi component, in the village of Ghazweye/Al-Ghazawiya of the Shirawa district 15 km south of Afrin.
The team added that the arrest campaign began yesterday, Wednesday, and continued until yesterday, Thursday, amid fears in the village that more young people will be arrested.
The monitoring team documented the names of the detainees:
Omar Ziyad Hamo, 27 years old and his brother Barakat Hamo, 20 years old, and their cousin Fermand Hamo, 27 years old. Who are known by the name of the family "Omar Jamlo".
Ahmed Hassan Youssef, 25 years old, and his brother Youssef Youssef, 18 years old.
Haval Musa, 28 years old.
Jamil Ali, 28 years old.
The monitoring team confirmed that the arrest campaign comes as part of a series of pressures exerted on the Yazidis, as the factions are trying to force the Yazidis to convert to Islam, which was rejected by the Yazidis.
In the context, a number of local residents told the Monitoring Team that harassment has continued against the Yazidi component since Turkey occupied the city of Afrin, as the Turkish-backed factions are deliberately expelling the Yazidis from their homes.
Ezdina documented earlier that the "Syrian Front" militants prevented the residents of the Yazidi village of Baflon, 15 km Northeast of Afrin, from returning to their homes despite the desire of 16 families, including children and women, to return to the village, but the armed factions did not allow them, under the pretext that they can not live with what they call "infidels and fire-worshippers" in reference to the Yazidi villagers.
The number of Yazidis in the Afrin region before its occupation was about 35 thousands according to unofficial statistics. However, since the Turkish occupation forces and Syrian opposition militants took control of the area on March 18, 2018, only 10 percent have remained there.
The monitoring team confirmed that the arrest campaign comes as part of a series of pressures exerted on the Yazidis, as the factions are trying to force the Yazidis to convert to Islam, which was rejected by the Yazidis.
In the context, a number of local residents told the Monitoring Team that harassment has continued against the Yazidi component since Turkey occupied the city of Afrin, as the Turkish-backed factions are deliberately expelling the Yazidis from their homes.
Ezdina documented earlier that the "Syrian Front" militants prevented the residents of the Yazidi village of Baflon, 15 km Northeast of Afrin, from returning to their homes despite the desire of 16 families, including children and women, to return to the village, but the armed factions did not allow them, under the pretext that they can not live with what they call "infidels and fire-worshippers" in reference to the Yazidi villagers.
The number of Yazidis in the Afrin region before its occupation was about 35 thousands according to unofficial statistics. However, since the Turkish occupation forces and Syrian opposition militants took control of the area on March 18, 2018, only 10 percent have remained there.
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