Violent pushbacks | Turkish Jandarma kill and injure nearly 65 Syrians since early 2023

Turkish border guards (Jandarma) continue their violations and violent bushbacks against Syrian civilians seeking a safe haven, where the Turkish Jandarma do not hesitate when it comes to preventing Syrians attempting to cross the border strip between Syria and Turkey through gunfire and brutal torture which civilians who are arrested on the border endure.

 

Ironically, the most of smuggling operations of Syrians are carried out after coordination between smugglers and officers of the Turkish Jandarma, after receiving large sums of money.

 

Despite statements by the Turkish government and the Turkish president, Receb Tayyip Erdogan, regarding preparing residences for Syrians in the so-called “safe zone” in areas controlled by Turkish-backed factions in Syrian territory, Syrians continue their attempts to sneak into Turkey from different areas along the border strip stretching from western Idlib in the north-west Syria to the far north-eastern region of Syria.

 

The number of civilians killed by Turkish border guards (Jandarma) since early 2023 in different areas near the Syria-Turkey border has increased to 25. In addition, 39 civilians, including a child and three women, were injured in gunfire by Turkish Jandarma in the same period. The fatalities are distributed regionally as follows:

 

• Areas controlled by “Peace Spring” operations room: 11 men in Al-Hasakah and a man in Al-Raqqah.

 

• Areas controlled by Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham and opposition factions in Idlib countryside: Nine men.

 

• Areas controlled by “Euphrates Shield” operations room in north Aleppo countryside: Three men.

 

• SDF-controlled areas: A child in Al-Hasakah.

 

We, at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), strongly condemn the frequent inhumane practices by Turkish Jandarma and call for protecting Syrian civilians who seek a safe haven away from military battles and atrocities committed in their homeland.

 

We also call for putting an end to violations against those civilians, especially since they are struggling with a disastrous situation and dreadful living conditions in all zones of influence throughout Syria, mainly in north Syria region, which contravenes Ankara’s baseless claims of securing decent standards of living in the so-called “safe zone.”