This analysis is a product of the Kurdish Peace Institute in Qamishlo, which provides decision-makers and the public with locally-rooted, actionable information on critical issues facing northeast Syria, the region, and the world.

On June 18, 2025, a Kurdish teenager named Mustafa Jamil Shekho from the village of Haj Hasna, located in Afrin’s Jinderes District, was allegedly shot and killed by Arab settlers. He was guarding solar panels on his family’s agricultural land in the village when the thieves attacked. The theft of Kurdish property has become an everyday act by Turkey-backed armed groups who participated in Turkey’s attack on Afrin and civilians from other parts of Syria who were settled in the region after the invasion.

Angry at the continuing violations, several young men and a few women protested in Afrin City center to condemn Mustafa’s murder. The youths shouted “Şehîd namirin” – Kurdish for “martyrs don’t die.” The Turkey-backed Military Police, with more than 10 cars and over 50 personnel, forcefully dispersed the demonstration before the eyes of Syrian Transitional Government (STG) General Security personnel, who only watched. Rather than pursue the perpetrators of the murder, the Military Police insulted the protestors and arrested 3 of them.

This case is just one of the thousands of violations that the indigenous Kurdish population of Afrin has been subjected to every day since the Turkish occupation of Afrin City and its countryside (366 villages) in 2018. Since then, no perpetrators have been held accountable. Even high-profile violations, like the murder of several members of the same Kurdish family the night before Newroz in 2023, have not been met with meaningful accountability and change. This impunity has strengthened the stance of the perpetrators, settlers, and other armed men to commit more violations and crimes freely.

Afrin Between Conflicts and Negotiations

The fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the rise to power of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Damascus did not bring an end to the violations. In December of 2024, 145 Afrin residents were arbitrarily arrested or kidnapped (including 16 women), 26 were killed, and 16 were physically assaulted by either SNA factions’ members, settlers who refused to return homes to their original owners, or thieves. In January 2025, 29 people were arbitrarily arrested (including 8 women). In February, 53 persons were arbitrarily arrested (including one woman).

In March, 11 people were arbitrarily arrested, and 6 others were physically assaulted. In April, there were five arbitrary arrests and eight assaults. In May, 4 people were killed and 4 were physically assaulted. In June, 8 people were arbitrarily arrested or kidnapped, 2 others were physically assaulted, and one person was killed (Mustafa Jamil Shekho).

The numbers alone suggest that abuses against Kurds in Afrin are decreasing. This could be due to the formal entry of General Security into Afrin on February 7 and the March 10th agreement between SDF commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi and the Syrian transitional president Ahmad al-Sharaa, in which both parties committed to “ensuring that all displaced Syrians return to their towns and villages and are protected by the Syrian state”.

However, conditions are still far from suitable for safe return and long-term security. Perpetrators have changed their tactics and expanded them across a larger geographic range.

While many Arab settlers are leaving Afrin and many Kurdish inhabitants are returning, theft and property destruction remain serious problems. Small incidents, including the theft of batteries, and larger ones, like the removal by settlers and militia members’ families of doors, windows, furniture, and appliances from houses as they vacate them, have left Kurdish returnees facing costly and time-consuming efforts to restore their homes. As those moved into Afrin by Turkey realize that they may soon have to leave for good, these types of final efforts to extort the local population may increase.

SNA factions that have been integrated into the new Syrian army, like the Suleiman Shah Division and the Hamza Division, now enjoy free movement across the country. This facilitates violations against Kurds from Afrin outside of the city proper. For example, there have been many reports of abuses on the road connecting Aleppo to Afrin. Since December 8th, more Kurds have used this road to attempt to visit their villages.

The road connecting Autonomous Administration regions to Aleppo and Afrin is also precarious. Many Kurds from Afrin who were displaced to Qamishlo, Hasakah, Amuda, Derik and other areas under Autonomous Administration control, were arrested and kidnapped on their way to Aleppo at a checkpoint controlled by the Hamza Division and Sultan Suleiman Shah Division on the Deir Hafer – Aleppo road, simply because of their Kurdish identity.

Despite all the appeals by Kurdish parties, civil society, and civilians from Afrin to the STG, as well as the entry of General Security forces and Ahmed al-Sharaa’s visit to Afrin in February, no major progress has been made for the people of Afrin. Steps that have been taken have little impact on the ground: for example, complaints offices have been opened, but few enter for fear of oppression by members of the armed settlers and factions.

The only major positive progress that has occurred since December 8th is the failure of Turkey’s policy to change the demography of Afrin by settling Syrian Arabs and Turkmen from other governorates in the region and forcing Kurds to flee. Afrin was once at least 98 percent Kurdish. After the Turkish occupation, the Kurdish population of Afrin decreased to about 25 percent. The most recent reports suggest that it has risen to 60%. This is primarily thanks to the will and determination of Afrin residents, who cautiously return to their homes and lands despite the ongoing deliberate violations, thefts, and insults against the Kurds.

In summary, the Afrin file is seriously marginalized and neglected. The interim government has implemented no tangible measures to diminish the suffering of Kurds there since taking nominal control of the region. The Autonomous Administration only states that Afrin and Sere Kaniye are the priorities on its agenda and that safe, dignified returns will soon be possible. Amidst promises and negotiations, the Kurds of Afrin deal with daily constant oppression and injustice on their own, with no legal or military support.

What Is the Best Solution?

Afrin was near-homogenously Kurdish and is considered by Kurdish communities to constitute an integral part of their homeland. Those Kurds who remained Afrin since the Turkish occupation in 2018 and those who were forcibly displaced because of the occupation, demand the rapid exit of all settlers moved into the region after the Turkish occupation for the purpose of demographic change and the withdrawal of Turkish and Turkey-backed militia forces. They want to govern themselves and be responsible for their own security.

Security conditions on the ground have shifted in a way that can facilitate a Turkish withdrawal. There is a ceasefire in place between Turkey and the SDF. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has announced its dissolution, removing the validity of the pretexts Turkey used to occupy Kurdish areas like Afrin and Sere Kaniye and destabilize the rest of North and East Syria.

The STG should understand the importance of Afrin for Syrian Kurds of all political perspectives. In line with the March 10th agreement, it should work with the Autonomous Administration to facilitate the returns of Afrin’s people in an organized way, rather than waiting for displaced Afrin residents to return on their own. This should include support for reclaiming homes and properties from settlers and armed groups.

Any deal on security integration should involve the return of SDF personnel to Afrin. Many of the SDF’s core Kurdish fighters are from this region. They have spent years fighting ISIS far from their homes and are likely to be interested in and capable of returning to provide security for their communities.The SDF enjoys significant public support from the population in Afrin and its fighters will likely be received warmly by local Kurds.

The return of the SDF does not necessarily mean the return of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria to Afrin. In fact, the Afrin example shows the power of a decentralized model. The region consists of one city and 366 villages. Each can govern itself, and together they can choose the type of mechanism they deem suitable for them to govern the entire region.

If the Autonomous Administration and STG can prioritize the Afrin file and take these steps, Afrin’s long-suffering population will be in a better position to restore their livelihoods and culture. This facilitate the creation of a stable, unified Syria for all of its residents.

(Photo: Hawar News Agency)