The human rights institutions report the criminal record of Turkey regarding the attacks in Afrin (Efrin), and constantly inform the United Nations (UN) on the issue.

Representatives of Syrian Women’s Organisations spoke to Hawar News on the anti-humanitarian crimes committed against women in Afrin in north-eastern Syria. Noting that the UN has not applied any sanctions against the Turkish state, the women said, ”The international silence is unacceptable, the anti-humanitarian crimes have been committed in higher rates than officially reported.”

Gulistan Gulo: “Women will not halt resistance”

“The Turkish state and its gangs have been attacking women since they invaded Afrin,” said Gulistan Gulo, one of the Congress Star executives. “Women have always been their primary target in all attacks against northeast Syria. They attacked the woman brutally to suppress the voices of the resisting women in Rojava. Until all the lands are liberated, women will not stop resisting.”

Lîna Berekat: “Women have always been the the first target in Syria”

The Syrian Women’s Council spokesperson Lîna Berekat said, “When the Turkish state and its gangs occupied Afrin (Efrin), Tell Abyad (Girê Spî) and Ras al-Ayn (Serêkaniyê), women have always been the first target for them. They kidnapped, tortured and killed women, disregarding all international laws. These were war crimes against humanity.”

Berekat noted that legal institutions and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) have consistently reported crimes in Syria. “Since the international investigation institutions could not come here, the local institutions delivered the documents of the crimes to them,” she said.

“Women around the world must stand up”

According to Berekat the attacks specifically targeting women in Afrin aims at breaking the resistance will of the Kurdish people in the region. “They wanted to intimidate the society by attacking women. They believed that by breaking the will of women, they could break the will of society. Crimes against women are shared on social media accounts every day. All the women of the world must stand up against these attacks. We will ensure that when the invaders leave our land, war crimes against women will stop. This means that the invaders will be judged in the international court,” she stated.