Executive Summary
This detailed report is based on 38 interviews with direct victims or their relatives. It outlines various housing, land, and property rights violations, such as seizure, looting, extortion, illegal land exploitation, and other related offenses. These violations also involve arrest, torture, threats of arrest, or financial extortion against internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Ras al-Ayn/Serê Kaniyê and Tell Abyad/Girê Spî or their relatives.
Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ) has released this report to commemorate the fifth anniversary of Türkiye’s Operation Peace Spring on 9 October 2019. The operation was conducted in collaboration with the Syrian National Army (SNA) against the areas of Ras al-Ayn/Serê Kaniyê and Tell Abyad/Girê Spî in northeastern Syria. As a result of the operation, Türkiye gained control over the two cities and large parts of their surrounding areas.
The region where Türkiye still exercises control has experienced significant demographic changes following the military operation. This has led to the displacement of nearly 200,000 residents, the majority of whom are Kurds. While some have returned to the region, most continue to live in camps that do not provide adequate living conditions. Additionally, many have been relocated to cities such as Raqqa and al-Hasakah, as well as towns and villages in northeastern Syria. Thousands have also sought refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan and European countries (i.e., Germany and the Netherlands). Most of the displaced people we spoke to expressed that they are facing significant economic challenges, leading some to pull their children out of school and have them join the labor market.
The report discusses the major factors contributing to the demographic changes in the region. These include preventing the return of IDPs, resettling fighters and their families in the homes of the local population, Turkification practices, annexing Syrian areas and integrating them into Turkish states, and forcibly relocating thousands of Syrian refugees from Türkiye to these areas under the guise of “voluntary return” to a “safe zone”. Additionally, the report highlights widespread human rights violations such as arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, and financial extortion, which have been reported by IDPs attempting to return to their villages. The absence of accountability and means of redress has led to continued forced displacement. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (COI-Syria) has confirmed these violations in its latest report issued on 12 August 2024.
Ongoing violations of housing, land, and property rights contribute to the demographic change in these areas. The present report documents violations, including destroying at least 60 homes, 51 shops, commercial properties, and agricultural lands covering an estimated 4,747 hectares (47.47 square kilometers). Additionally, a large amount of agricultural and industrial equipment and tons of seeds intended for planting were also affected. These violations occurred right after the Turkish incursion or at different times during it. Notably, none of the displaced individuals we interviewed recovered their properties.
You may read and download the full version of the Report in PDF format by clicking here.