Turkish-backed mercenary groups affiliated to the Syrian Transitional Government are abducting families who have been evacuated by bus from the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah due to increasingly ongoing attacks.
At checkpoints along the Aleppo-Afrin road, particularly near Kafirja and Basuta, mercenaries affiliated with the Transitional Government are forcing families off buses and abducting them.
On the other hand, eyewitnesses confirmed that buses sent by the Transitional Government -supposedly assigned to transport families leaving the two neighborhoods – are actually used to abduct young people. The mercenaries record the names of residents leaving both neighborhoods to later track them down in Afrin, which is occupied by the Turkish army and affiliated mercenaries.