The Turkish state continues its attacks on Rojava, carried out by ISIS and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) mercenaries, violating the ceasefire by striking residential areas in Kobanê and Hasakah. The Diyarbakır (Amed) Bar Association and the Amed Branch Human Rights Commission of the Human Rights Association (IHD) said the ongoing attacks involve serious human rights violations and war crimes, criticizing the silence of international institutions. Human rights defenders said these crimes must be documented and announced that their institutions will undertake actions in response to the situation.
Baver Mızrak, Chair of the Human Rights Commission of the Diyarbakır Bar Association, said that amid the escalating conflict the bar association will travel to Southern Kurdistan (Başur) and Rojava. Mızrak said they will hold a series of contacts there, adding that the attacks are targeting the peoples’ demand for an equal and free life in Syria.
Peoples’ lives are being targeted
Baver Mızrak said there is a clear attempt to dismantle the model of life and political practices built by the Kurdish people and added: “The interim Damascus government is continuing the old Assad mindset, acting with a monist approach and trying to re-establish a centralized administration across all of Syria. In Rojava, there has for years been a status in which peoples lived equally. A serious attack is now being carried out against this.” Mızrak said clashes that began in Aleppo over the past 15 days have spread as far as Hasakah province and the Şanlıurfa border line. He said, “In the images reflected to the public, we can clearly see how brutal the methods used during the attacks are.”
We will go to Rojava as a bar association
Mızrak also addressed the humanitarian crisis caused by the attacks, saying thousands of people have been displaced: “People have been forced to leave their homes. There are serious problems in accessing shelter, food, and necessities. In order not to remain silent in the face of this brutality, to raise public awareness, and to carry out on-site observation, we plan to cross into Rojava today with a 15-member delegation via the Semalka Crossing.”
Self-defense is a fundamental right
Baver Mızrak also addressed the right of self-defense of the people living there, underlining that it is a legitimate right, and said: “Although the peoples living there have not attacked any identity or community, they are being targeted because of their Kurdish identity and because they have asserted the will to govern themselves in their own regions. Defense against these attacks is a fundamental right within the scope of legitimate self-defense.”
People’s lives and security are under threat
Berfin Elçi, a board member of the Amed Branch of the IHD and a member of its Central Executive Committee, said IHD will gather on Saturday in Suruç to say, “peace against war.” Elçi stated that the statement to be made there will draw attention to grave rights violations and said: “The recent attacks in northern Syria point to serious human rights violations, particularly targeting residential areas where the Kurdish population lives in large numbers. The military activities carried out by armed groups affiliated with the Syrian Interim Government in and around Rojava have come to directly threaten the lives and security of Kurdish civilians. Alongside the Kurds, other peoples and belief groups living in the region are also affected by these attacks. However, the fact that the areas where the attacks have intensified are places with a predominantly Kurdish population shows that what is happening is not coincidental.”
International law is clearly being violated
Berfin Elçi said what is taking place constitutes a clear violation of rights and that the evidence is plainly visible in the footage and called on the United Nations to take action. Elçi also said: “The targeting of civilian settlements, forced displacement, ill-treatment, and allegations of arbitrary executions constitute clear violations of international humanitarian law.
Access to reliable information about the scale of violations in the region is becoming increasingly difficult. However, images and testimonies reflected in the public domain reveal that obligations related to the protection of civilians are being systematically violated. This situation creates deep concern about fundamental rights and freedoms, foremost the right to life of the Kurdish people. The continuation of the conflict in this manner will not only aggravate existing violations but will also further deepen ethnic and social vulnerabilities in the region.”
Violations must not go unpunished
Berfin Elçi said the action they will hold in Suruç on Saturday will once again raise the people’s right to life, and concluded with the following statement: “It has now become imperative for the international community, particularly the United Nations, to take effective and binding steps in response to these attacks against the Kurds. As the IHD, we will hold an action on Saturday at the Kobanê border in Suruç regarding all these rights violations. Through the action we will carry out at the Suruç border, we will strongly voice the demand that attacks against Kurdish civilians across the border be halted, that civilians be protected, and that the grave violations committed not go unpunished. The demand for peace cannot be separated today from defending the Kurdish people’s right to life.”