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The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michel Bachelet, has warned of the possibility that armed factions allied with Ankara have committed war crimes in Turkey-controlled areas in northern Syria. Bachelet’s office said an increase in murders, kidnappings, illegal transfers of people, confiscation of land and property, and forced evictions were documented in these areas.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Friday that armed factions may have been committed in the Turkish-controlled region of northern Syria. war crimes And other violations of international law.
Michelle Bachelet said that the situation in those areas of Syria is grim, with widespread violence and crime.
The UN Human Rights Office said in a statement that it had observed “in recent months a disturbing pattern of grave violations,” documenting the increase in killings, kidnappings, illegal transfer of people, confiscation of land and property, and forced evictions. .
Bachelet’s office said that among the victims were people perceived as allied with opposition parties or critical of the actions of pro-Turkish armed factions.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said these factions have seized houses, lands and properties and looted them without any apparent military necessity.
In addition, increased infighting between various pro-Turkish armed factions over the sharing of power has resulted in civilian casualties and damage to civil infrastructure.
Turkey controls large areas of northeastern Syria through various armed factions and carries out operations aimed at overthrowing Kurdish fighters and fighting extremist Islamists.
In October last year, Turkish forces and their affiliated Syrian factions penetrated into Syrian territories and occupied a 120 km strip within Syrian borders and drove Kurdish forces out of there.
Ankara has also deployed forces to several military sites it established in northwestern Idlib as part of the 2018 agreement with Moscow, an ally of the Syrian regime, while Turkey also controls an area of land along its borders in neighboring province. from Aleppo after a series of military attacks since 2016.
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Bachelet’s office said it had documented the abduction and disappearance of civilians, including women and children. He added that from the beginning of the year until last Monday, at least 116 civilians were killed as a result of improvised explosive devices and explosive remnants of war, while 463 civilians were injured.
Bachelet said: “I urge Turkey to immediately initiate a fair, transparent and independent investigation into the incidents we have investigated, to reveal the fate of those detained and kidnapped at the hands of its armed groups, and to hold those responsible for what may amount, in some cases, to crimes stipulated in international law, including: That is war crimes. “
She said: “This is a very important issue, given that we have received disturbing reports that some of the detainees and kidnappers were transferred to Turkey after being detained in Syria by the armed factions affiliated with it.”
Meanwhile, Bachelet expressed concern that parties to the conflict in Syria are using basic services as weapons.
He said that “obstructing access to water, sanitation and electricity endangers the lives of large numbers of people, which is a danger that is becoming more acute as people fight the Covid-19 pandemic.”
France 24 / AFP
