Members of the Suleiman Shah faction, known as “Al-Amshat,” brutally assaulted a protest held by women in the village of Kokhra in Afrin’s Maabatli district. The protest was in reaction to the imposition of  taxes on the olive harvest. Several women were injured in the attack, with some in critical condition. Villagers were unable to assist the wounded due to communication networks outages and the siege imposed by the faction on the village.

The Syrian Women’s Political Movement strongly condemns and denounces this unjust act against the women of Kokhra and demands that those responsible for these violations be held accountable. This is not the first time that these military factions have attacked unarmed civilians, forcing them to pay levies before each harvest season in the Afrin region.

The Syrian Women’s Political Movement holds the de facto authorities, supported by the Turkish government, responsible for this heinous crime and its consequences, as well as the ongoing systematic crimes against the people of the region. We demand that they lift the siege on the village. Furthermore, we call on Syrian national forces to stand in solidarity with the women of Kokhra/Afrin and urge international bodies and neutral media to investigate the incident.

SWPM Wishes a speedy recovery to the injured women,

The General Secretariat of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement  

Tuesday, September 17, 2024