AL-HASAKAH, Syria
The PYD’s recent declaration of a federal system in areas under its control in northern Syria will not benefit civilians, who are already suffering forceful migration and torture at the hands of the terrorist group.
Arabs and Turkmen living under PYD-controlled areas are being subjected to forceful migration, arbitrary arrests and torture, while Kurds are being forcefully recruited in the terror group.
Kurdish, Arab and Turkmen groups reject the federal system which was declared by the PYD terror group in northern Syria's al-Hasakah, Ayn el-Arab (also known as Kobani) and Afrin areas.
Locals told Anadolu Agency that their lives have become restricted since 2012 when the PYD terror group started to gain dominance in the region.
A local governor of Minnig Village, Giyas el-Diq, in northern Aleppo said that ever since the organization captured the area last month, people were not being allowed to go back to their own homes. He also said Russia’s aerial bombardment had severely damaged the village and its surroundings.
Abdurrahman Hac Dibo, local government member of Tel Rifat in northern Aleppo, another area recently captured by the PYD terror group, said: “We see the PYD as an invasion force and part of regime. That’s why we don’t want to return to our homes in PYD’s presence. Significant portion of our home has already been leveled and looted”.
According to local sources, the PYD terror group displaced 230 families during its advance with Russian aerial support in the last month, forcing several families to take refuge in camps near the Turkish border.
According to reports of Syrian Network for Human Rights, PYD forces killed 416 civilians, including 44 women and 61 children since the conflict erupted. Seventeen people were tortured to death; three health personnel and two media activists were also among those killed. The PYD also forcefully recruited more than 1,800 children and arbitrarily arrested 1,650 people.
The PYD was also targeting members of the press. A total of 24 reporters and cameraman were arbitrarily arrested, their equipment confiscated and homes targeted with firearms.
Also, the YPG, PYD’s armed wing, kidnapped 88 females, including 34 children between early 2014 and October 2015.
Moreover, PYD forces displaced thousands of people, mostly Arabs, in al-Hasakah province by destroying around 30 towns and villages. The same forces also oppressed around 100 Turkmen families in February 2015.
Amnesty International reported on Oct. 13, 2015, that the PYD terror group carried out several human rights violations, including forcing civilians in northern part of Syria, where mostly Arabs and Turkmen live, to migrate.
On Thursday, PYD declared a federal system in areas under its control in northern Syria following a two-day conference of Kurdish leaders in the northern town of Rmeilan.
Turkey has repeatedly voiced its concern over PYD's affiliation with the PKK terrorist group and the sharing of logistical information and weaponry between them.
At Turkey's request, the PYD terror group was not invited to UN-sponsored talks in Geneva aimed at resolving the six-year conflict in Syria.
