The Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces hide the fate of more than 200 Syrian abductees in their jails who were taken a year ago and threatened to end those trying to uncover their fate
Deir Ezzor Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the fate of tens of Syrian citizens remains unknown in the cellars of torture and death in the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) inside the Iraqi territory, after they were taken during the latter’s control over the border villages of al-Heri and al-Sway’iyah in al-Bokamal area with the Iranian Forces, the regime, and its allies at the beginning of November 2017, and the reliable sources of the Syrian Observatory confirmed that more than 200 detainees mostly from the Arab clan of al-Jaghayfah which branches in Syria and Iraq, and in the developments of the situation: the reliable sources of the Syrian Observatory confirmed that members of influence of this clan on the Iraqi side tried to uncover the fate of these detainees, and tried to know their situation and where they are located, but the military and religious authorities of the Iraqi PMF told them that the search must stop for the fate of these detainees, sources close to some residents said that the leadership of the PMF threatened the mediators with the arrest and “end the life of who mediates” if demands to know their fate were repeated.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 1st of June 2018 that fears still increases for the lives of tens of people of 2 border villages, al-Heri and al-Swi’eiyyah at the border with Iraq, who remain in the prisons of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, which abducted them months ago, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the families of the detainees are still afraid of the fate of their children who were abducted and put in the in prisons of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces, where their families received information and then told the Syrian Observatory; that the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces executed a number of the abductees, while the rest of them are in miserable conditions, amid uncertainty surrounds their fate, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published in the past weeks that the fears over the lives of tens of Syrian civilians increases, where they have been abducted by Popular Mobilization Forces who crossed the Syrian-Iraqi border, and abducted civilians from two border villages: al-Heri and al-Swi’eiyyah in the far east of Deir Ezzor at the border with Iraq, during the military operations against the ” Islamic State “organization coincided with the massive attack by the regime forces on al-Bokamal area, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights received back then information from several credible sources about the abduction of more than 200 civilians from the villages of al-Heri and al-Swi’eiyyah in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor in late 2017, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights the artillery, air and missile shelling in the last quarter of 2017 pushed a lot of people from the villages of al-Heri and al-Swi’eiyyah located on the Syrian – Iraqi border to displace, but also the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces have crossed the Syrian – Iraqi border at the beginning of November 2017, and controlled al-Heri and al-Swi’eiyyah villages, in conjunction with military operations by the regime forces and their allies in al-Bokamal area.
The reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces at that time had imposed a curfew in both villages after controlling both of them, and then they gathered the remaining people in specific homes, and after 4 days of controlling both border villages, the villagers were assembled in the square of the crossing between the Syrian al-Bokamal and the Iraqi al-Qa’em, under the pretext of distributing “food baskets, humanitarian aid and meals”, but the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces at that time had arrested more than 200 civilian men and women from the villages of al-Heri and al-Swi’eiyyah, and were transferred towards the Iraqi side. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights was able to document about 82 names of them, also the process of documenting the names of the rest of them who were detained by the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces continues.
The Syrian Observatory published at the beginning of November 2017 that violent clashes are taking place between the “Islamic State” organization against members of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces in areas near the Syrian – Iraqi border at al-Heri border area; in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, after the Popular Mobilization Forces were able to control al-Qa’em city opposite to al-Bokamal city in the Iraqi side.
We in the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights call on the official authorities of Iraq and those who arrested the Syrian citizens, to uncover the fate of more than 200 civilians arrested by the Popular Mobilization Forces from the villages of al- Swi’eiyyah and al- Heri on the Syrian border with Iraq in the countryside of Bokamal city, and we call on the international actors to pressure the Iraqi authorities to release them immediately and to reveal their fate, and to return them to their homes after being arrested from their areas according to various pretexts.