This week in Northern Syria (XVII)
This week in Northern Syria (XVII)
A rundown of key events from Turkish/SNA & SDF-controlled territories
Events
10/25/22: Media affiliated with SNA faction Furqat al-Sultan Suleiman Shah published a video interview with a farmer from the Afrin town of Arende, highlighting abuses suffered under rival SNA faction al-Jabhah al-Shamiyah. The farmer’s olive orchards, located on a hilltop (Tell Arende) just outside the town, had been seized by members of the group who cut down all the trees in order to excavate the hilltop in search of antiquities. Arende had been under Shamiyah control since 2018, until it was seized by Suleiman Shah last month in the context of the SNA-HTS conflict. This video is one of many put out by the group as part of an anti-Shamiyah PR campaign.
10/26/22: Canada repatriated two women and two children from the AANES’s Roj camp for IS family members. The two women were arrested on terrorism charges upon arrival in Canada. RIC reports that forty Canadian nationals remain in AANES detention camps.
10/26/22: Local sources reported that HTS security forces carried out an arrest campaign within the vicinity of Afrin's Kawa roundabout. There were conflicting reports as to whether this was targeting 3rd Legion fighters in hiding or a network of drug dealers. By all accounts HTS has a significant continued presence in Afrin, however it remains essentially impossible to verify and track this through open sources.
10/27/22: The SIG-affiliated Jarabulus Local Council published a circular banning the carrying of arms within the city under punishment of fine and confiscation. In addition to a general ban for civilians, the ruling restricts SNA members weapons carrying to bases. Meanwhile, it specifies that members of security forces are only allowed to carry arms in Jarabulus while on duty. This comes in the wake of the Abu Ghannoum assassination, as well as local clashes between tribal elements in Jarabulus. Whether the Local Council will be able to enforce this ban remains up in the air.
10/27/22: A delegation representing multiple UN bodies visited various sites in Turkish-controlled northeast Syria for the first time since Turkey’s invasion of the area in 2019. This convoy of several UN vehicles was escorted from the AANES-controlled town of Abu Rassin/Zirgan across the front lines by the Russian military. From there they reportedly visited the Alouk water station as well as the city of Ras al-’Ain/Serê Kaniyê.
10/28/22: A woman was reportedly killed and two others wounded when clashes broke out during an SDF and coalition raid in the Deir ez-Zour town of Dhiban. This in turn sparked local protests against the SDF. A similar raid conducted the same day in the the nearby village of al-Takihi resulted reportedly resulted in the killing of an IS zakat official known as ‘Abu Daham al-Iraqi.
10/28/22: Australian repatriated seventeen citizens - four women and thirteen children - from northeastern Syria’s Roj camp. This is only the second time Australia has conducted such repatriations. According to RIC, 43 other Austrialian citizens remain held in Roj camp.
10/30/22: The YPG Press Office published footage of attacks carried out against what it claims were Turkish targets though some likely belonged to the SNA. There is no geographic information offered though the clips look to be filmed in on fronts in both northeastern Syria and in eastern Aleppo.
10/30/22: Zakaria al-Hayawi, a mentally disabled man from the Deir ez-Zour countryside, was killed in Jarabulus after being struck by a stray bullet. This tragically occurred during a Civil Police raid of a house belonging to accused drug dealers.
10/31/22: Efrin News 24 published a video showing the desecrated state of the Sheikhmous shrine, located in the northwestern Afrini town of Gewenda. The local news outlet accused HTS of being behind the damage though such acts targeting Sufi, Ezidi, and Alevi shrines in Afrin, including this one, have been common under Turkish/SNA rule, long before HTS’s arrival last month.
10/31/22: A speech given by HTS leader Abu Muhammed al-Jawlani to the organizations ‘General Shura Council’ attacked the security and administrative situation in Turkish/SNA-controlled areas, portraying such as a threat to Idlib. These statements highlighted the chaotic and decentralized military and security structures, the growing drug trade, prostitution, as well as the widespread infiltration of the region by clandestine cells, belonging to IS, the SDF, and the regime.
