Activists in Raqqa province said that the militias of the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are committing various violations against residents of the towns and villages the militias have captured from the ISIS extremist group. A recently leaked video showed SDF militants torturing two young men from Raqqa city. The Defense and Self-Protection Body, an affiliate of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), has admitted the video is authentic.
Sarmad Jilani, an activist with “Voice and Image” media network, said that SDF militias have demolished all civilian homes in the villages of Mulla Barho and Alosalim apart from big houses which are to be used as headquarters for the militias.
Activists also said that they have documented assaults that took place late last month by SDF militants on men and women who demanded to be allowed to return to their homes in the village of Swaidiya in western rural Raqqa after ISIS had been forced out of the village.
SDF militias in June detained a number of civilians for talking to the media about the violations the militias had been carrying out against residents of the village of Yarmouk north of Raqqa.
On June 23, SDF militias attacked demonstrators in the village of Yarmouk who condemned the forced displacement of residents of the village by the SDF militias. They also demanded to be allowed to return to their homes. Seven people, including a woman, were injured in the SDF attack on the demonstrators.
Meanwhile, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said that the SDF militias are preventing around 4,000 people from returning to their homes in in the village of eastern Salhabiya northeast of Raqqa under the pretext of ongoing military operations.
In a report released on Friday, the Network said that the displaced people are currently living in ramshackle tents built in the farmlands surrounding the village amid severe shortage of basic necessities such as drinking water, healthcare, and humanitarian aid. The SDF militias are denying residents of the village access to the medical center the militia has recently set up in the village.
On June 28, the United Nations announced that airstrikes on Raqqa city have so far killed dozens of civilians, while over 100,000 more are still trapped inside the ravaged city. The UN accused the SDF militias of committing violations against civilian in the province. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)
