ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Four young Kurdish men were arrested in Afrin on Friday, a day after they raised the Kurdistan flag during a spontaneous reception for security forces affiliated with the new leadership in Damascus, according to a local human rights monitor.
“Members of the Military Police, affiliated with the [National] Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, arrested the four young men in Afrin for raising the Kurdistan flag during the arrival of the Syrian government's security forces,” said Human Rights Organization-Afrin.
One of the men has been identified as Mohammad Abdul Qader Ahmed from the district of Jindires in the Afrin countryside. The names of the others have not been published. The four were arrested in the early morning hours on Friday and taken to an undisclosed location, the organization said.
The Syrian interior ministry confirmed on Thursday the arrival of its forces in Afrin but did not specify the reason for the visit. Informed sources told Rudaw that the convoy’s visit was part of a tour of the region.
A number of Kurds in Afrin welcomed the visiting forces, raising the flags of Kurdistan and Syria to express their joy about the possibility that various armed factions could cede control of the area to the new government. For seven years, the militia groups have committed numerous violations against the Kurdish people in Afrin, drawing international condemnation.
