Eight women and two girls were allegedly kidnapped in occupied Afrin in the month of December. Seven of these individuals remain missing, two were reported to have been released, and one has reportedly been murdered. Three were reported to belong to religious minority communities. Armed groups implicated in kidnappings this month were Ahrar al Sharqiyah, Failaq al Sham, the Hamza Division, Jabhat al Shamiyah, and the Sultan Murad Division.
Ghazala Manan Hussein, a Yezidi woman from Basûfanê, was allegedly kidnapped from that village by Failaq al Sham in early December and taken to a prison in the village of Iska. The date of her abduction is unknown.
The Human Rights Organization in Afrin alleged that she and other Yezidi detainees from the village were tortured in custody.
On December 28th, the Human Rights Organization – Afrin noted that other Yezidi detainees had been released, but that her fate remained unknown.
In early December, Fatima Mahmoud Hunik and her thirteen-year-old daughter Alia Adnan Jammo were reportedly kidnapped from their home in Afrin’s Mahmudiyah neighborhood by the Hamza Division in a raid targeting their entire family, according to the Afrin Post. The family was subsequently handed over to the Military Police. The date of their abduction is unknown.
On December 3rd, Nadira Darmash was reportedly abducted from her home in Afrin city’s Old Afrin neighborhood by the Sultan Murad Division. According to the Afrin Post, she was subsequently murdered, and her body was left in the area. According to both the Afrin Post account and a separate allegation made by the Human Rights Organization in Afrin, militia members also stole valuables from her property, including a computer, a phone, cash, and multiple cars.
On December 6th, two women, Khaleda Sheikh Murad and Amina Abdo Murad, were kidnapped from the town of Jinderes by Ahrar al Sharqiyah.
According to local monitor Ezdina, the women were targeted on the basis of membership in a civilian neighborhood assembly under the Autonomous Administration.
On December 19th, two women, Hevin Hambasho and Rahila Mukhtar, were kidnapped from the town of Mobata by Jabhat al Shamiyah, during a raid that targeted large numbers of civilians around the village. The Afrin Civil Society Assembly first reported the raid and the names of the detainees on December 22nd.
According to the Human Rights Organization – Afrin, the victims belonged to the region’s Alevi religious minority.
On December 29th, the Human Rights Organization – Afrin reported that the two women and several other detainees had been released after about four days in custody, and claimed that they had been subjected to torture.
On December 21st, a sixteen-year-old girl, Fatima Mohammed Raskelah, was reportedly kidnapped by Ahrar al Sharqiyah.
On December 29th, Laila Mahmoud Jafar was reportedly kidnapped from the village of Mirkan by Jabhat al Shamiyah. According to the Afrin Media Network, her husband and teenage son had also been kidnapped by the group.
The Human Rights Organization – Afrin corroborated the disappearance of her husband, noting that he owned a shop in the village.