The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Two armed groups in Nubl and Al-Zahraa continue holding tens of men and women as a response to the detention of two of their sons in the northern countryside of Aleppo

The process of reaching to an agreement on the release of more than 50 men and young men is still stopped, after they were abducted and detained by armed groups operating in the towns of Nubl and Al-Zahraa which are inhabited by citizens of the Shiite community in the northern countryside of Aleppo, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, dozens of citizens, young men and men, are still being held in the towns of Nubl and Al-Zahraa after an armed group in both towns stopped buses carrying dozens of citizens including citizen women while they were moving from the northern countryside of Aleppo to Idlib, cross-sources confirmed to SOHR that the women were released. While the reason for the detention was due to the group’s demand from rebel groups operating in Azaz area who were led by a leader named Abu Ali Sejju; to release a young man who was an expatriate in a European country and was detained during his return across the Turkish border to Nubl and Al-Zahraa. The group -which consists of members of family the kidnapped young man-claimed that the factions operating in Azaz are the ones who abducted and detained the young man, the sources also confirmed that Abu Ali Sejju demands the release of four prisoners held by the regime forces, without information about a response from the regime until now.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published earlier that it learned that negotiations are still obstructed between SDF on one hand and the Turkish supported factions on the other. SOHR obtained details from reliable sources that the negotiations were obstructed for many reasons, they are: the demand of the Kurdish units to negotiate with a person named Yasser Najjar as a representative of the factions, and the disagreement between both parties about the number of bodies and persons to be handed over by each party. The factions talked about the existence of 10 bodies and one prisoner of them in addition to another one missing and that the Kurdish units have them all. While the Kurdish units confirmed the presence of 10 bodies and one prisoner, and they demanded to exchange them with a prisoner of the militiamen loyal to the regime forces who were deployed in the de-escalation zones in the northern countryside of Aleppo earlier.

This obstruction of negotiations and not handing over the prisoner, pushed the people in the towns of Nubl and Al-Zahraa to hold dozens of citizens who were moving from the area of Azaz in the northern countryside of Aleppo to Idlib Province, through areas controlled by the regime forces, in an attempt to put pressure on the factions operating in the countryside of Aleppo to hand over the prisoner  who was captured in the clashes of Ein Daqneh on the 17th of July 2017, which created tension in the north of Aleppo and Idlib, amid demands by the families of those held by the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them in the towns of Nubl and Al-Zahraa -which are inhabited by citizens of the Shiite community in the northern countryside of Aleppo- to release them and to stop involving civilians in military conflicts they had nothing to do with,  while those in charge of Nubl and Al- Zahraa are refusing until the release of the prisoner of the factions operating in the countryside of Aleppo.