For weeks, families have been trying to make their voices heard regarding the hundreds of people who were killed or taken captive during the course of the fighting in Aleppo’s Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah neighborhoods, as well as in the Deir Hafer and Raqqa–Tabqa areas in January.
Occupation attacks launched against the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah in Aleppo on the morning of 6 January spread to Deir Hafer, Raqqa–Tabqa and Deir ez-Zor regions east of the Euphrates River.
SDF, YPG, and YPJ forces, together with the local population, put up relentless resistance in the face of the intense bombardment with heavy weapons and drone strikes. During this period, numerous civilian residential areas were targeted; homes were destroyed, hundreds of thousands of people were displaced, and the humanitarian crisis deepened.
Hundreds remain missing since the conflict that hit the region in January. Relatives of the missing people are demanding to learn about the aftermath of their loved ones, not knowing even if they are missing or dead.
While families raise their voices with the slogan, “Return our children, hand over the bodies of our martyrs,” no concrete step has been taken so far.
On Wednesday, the families of civilians and fighters who were captured by armed groups held a protest in front of the United Nations center in Qamishlo.
Speaking at the protest, a father demanded the release of his son, Zinar Zagros.
The father made the victory sign and said: “I want my son and all our children to come out of those dark dungeons. We want to live with dignity and freedom. What did we do? What crime did we commit? We have just struggled for humanity and brotherhood. I want my son to be released.”
A mother stated that she had lost one son three months ago and had received no news from her other son since the day the war began.
“Since the beginning of the war, there has not been a single piece of information. We do not know whether he is a martyr or missing. This people must not be left alone. We are going through very difficult days. Even patience has its limits. In this holy month of Ramadan, we want our children to return to their mothers,” she said.
Behiye Ferhan Eli, the mother of Murad Eşqer, stated that she had lost two family members in the war, while her son had been taken captive. Holding a photograph of her son, she made the following appeal:
“This is my son who was taken captive. He was captured in Deir Hafer. We do not know his fate. One of my children is a martyr, one is captive, and my son-in-law is also a martyr. As a mother, what should I do? We want our voice to reach all countries. Release our children.”
The families are calling on international human rights organizations, foremost the United Nations, to intervene. They demand that the situation of the captives be monitored by independent delegations, that the fate of the missing be clarified, and that the bodies of those who were killed be returned to their families.
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