War crimes in Syria: Ankara denies as Erdogan’s terrorists are accused

Shaimaa Yahya

“We came to cut off the heads of the infidels and apostates” are harsh words uttered by Turkish militants and spread widely through video clips on social media declaring their hideous violence in Syria since the start of Turkey’s attack on the country, proving the atrocities of the Turks against civilians in Syria.

Turkey has long faced indirect accusations by human rights organizations of its armed factions in the Turkish-controlled northern region carrying out war crimes and violations of international law, as well as their failure to confront jihadists in Syria, in addition to the spread of violence and crime.

On the other hand, the Turkish government has denied its connection with those crimes committed in Syria. Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected what was stated in a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights against the Syrian and Turkish armed factions.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry stated, “We categorically reject the unfounded allegations of human rights violations and that these allegations were directed against the Syrian opposition factions working in the field in order to combat terrorism and to ensure the return of Syrian refugees to their homes.” It also condemned of the report for not mentioning the Syrian regime and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) organization as the two main causes of the violations mentioned in the report.

Excessive violations

Recently, an alarming increase in the pattern of violations committed against Syrian civilians has been observed in the Turkish-controlled areas in northern Syria. The United Nations Human Rights Office has documented an increase in killings and kidnappings, illegal trafficking of people, confiscation of land and property, and forced evictions, with the knowledge that among those people are those opposed to the actions of the armed factions loyal to Turkey.

According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, these factions have seized homes, lands and properties, looting them without referencing any military need, which has led to an increase in internal fighting between the various armed factions loyal to Turkey over power-sharing. This has also increased civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure under the pretext of removing Kurdish fighters and combating extremist Islamists who are not loyal to Ankara. Fear of these cruel practices has also forced many civilians to flee their homes.

Officials in the United States considered some of the practices that appeared in the “war crimes” video recordings as showing atrocities. There is conclusive evidence of systematic war crimes and violations of human rights witnessed in the conflict between the Turkish army and security forces and the PKK during the Kurds’ attempt for independence in Turkey for many years.

According to a report by the Commission of Inquiry on Syria that included the first months of 2020, there has been an increase in assassinations and rape of civilians by all sides, marked by sectarianism, in the conflict since 2011.

The commission called on Turkey to control and restrain the militants it supports in northern Syria after they carried out kidnappings, torture, rape and looting of civilian property, which is a war crime regarding illegal deportation.

Inaction

However, it appears that there is a reluctance by the United States and the European Union to condemn Turkey or to take legal measures to punish it, while EU activists have accused it of intentionally ignoring the human rights violations committed by Ankara because of its membership in NATO, the economic relations between them, and fear of violent reactions from the millions of Turks residing in European countries.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan took advantage of the Syrian refugee card to force the European countries to overlook his hostile policies. After the war in Syria, a new factor emerged, which is controlling European reactions to the gross human rights violations committed by Turkey and the threat of flooding European countries with refugees.