Hassan Hassan is an English teacher and works with the NGO S.O.S. Afrin. He is originally from Afrin and lived almost seven years in Shehba. His family and he were displaced to North and East Syria following the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army’s December 1 offensive to seize Shehba. He talks to RIC about his memories of the SNA’s attack, mass displacement from Shehba, the travel to Tabqa, and his situation having been now twice displaced.`
The interview was conducted in English and was lightly edited for clarity.
RIC: How was your situation in Shehba prior to the SNA entering the area?
Hassan: In Shehba I worked independently. I had a small NGO [an association] that looked after the Afrin IDPs in the camps. In 2012, I was working as an English teacher. In 2018, when Afrin came under Turkish onslaught and occupation, I left for Shehba with 300,000 people. Most of them settled inside Aleppo and are still inside Aleppo. The majority of Afrin IDPs are inside Aleppo.
From inside, Shehba was a very stable area. Although there were some Syrian [Arab Army] troops on the outskirts, there was a good police force and the court administered justice. People got daily bread, seven hours of electricity a day, municipal services and drinking water free of charge. Medical treatment. We felt secure that there were no robbers. It was safe on the inside. But what turned life into hell in some villages near the front line was the constant bombardment. Clashes every day between the Afrin Liberation Forces and Syrian [Arab] Army on one side, and Turkish Army and Turkish-backed groups on the other sides. But the civilians – both locals and Afrin IDPs – got used to that. They had nowhere to go. They were locked up inside that small enclave. A lot of work was available in the area; many had opened small shops. You could see exchange, money exchange shops, jewellery shops, pharmacies. It was full of life before the invaders came to destroy every last breath of life in that area. I received a video of the town we were living in – it’s like a ghost town now.
And when did you leave Shehba?
I think it was a Tuesday. I have forgotten the exact date because I was so troubled that day. Maybe it was the 4th of December, after the attack on Aleppo and the fall of the city to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and allied groups of Islamists. We knew that Shehba had strategically fallen and there was no point keeping on clashing with the armed groups, especially because we had news from Afrin that the Turkish-backed SNA factions were readying themselves for an onslaught on that enclave. Then they attacked the Shia towns to the west of Shehba. Turkish drones and artillery, heavy artillery, shelling of Shehba villages and towns. They even targeted civilians inside Tel Rifaat and other towns. There were many casualties. We knew that we had to cross out of the area but it was risky to get out of the area because the military situation was changing quickly. I saw the small Russian contingent at midnight withdrawing from the area. In the early morning I saw Syrian tanks with troops riding the tanks in the early morning. It was frosty, miserable conditions. They were also leaving the area.
But then the Afrin Liberation Forces prevented them from leaving the area because if they left the area they would be ambushed on the road. I mean, the armed groups were also flanking around Aleppo from the east, and the Turkish-backed rebels were also attacking from al-Bab city, advancing towards Aleppo, to close the gap that would be the escape route for the Shehba people. And then it was an attack, a full scale attack from all directions by them. The defensive lines held them for some time, but they infiltrated from the west and from the south. HTS from the south and the Turkish-backed groups from the west. Suddenly, I saw them one kilometre away from our town, inside a small village called al-Ahdas. Dozens, even hundreds of mortars were falling on the town and around it.
At that moment I told my neighbours to get out of the town which we were living in. We had no place to go. We said let’s go to the camp because it will be safer. A refugee camp; all the population of Shehba coming together there, so they would not be slaughtered. Because they were even firing indiscriminately. At that time, other Afrin IDPs in different Shehba villages – around 70 I think, there were around 70 towns and villages – all of them flocked together, ran hastily with whatever they could pick up. Many of them were walking, carrying their bags.
They flocked to the columns of cars. Then we had news that there was a deal between al-Nusra and the international coalition to allow the Afrin IDPs to get safely out of that area. That gave us a sigh of relief, but we were still troubled. We were afraid, people were in shock and terror. How could such a big number of vehicles all get out of Shehba? We stayed in the column for more than 30 hours until it was our turn to move to the east.
We got news from some of those who left that they were close to Manbij; others said that they were on their way to Tabqa. That gave us a hope of escape because we were expecting that it was the end; that we would be captured and slaughtered, taken prisoner by them. We were more worried about our kids falling into the hands of ruthless, merciless groups. They act without anybody who holds them accountable. On the way to Raqqa it was a very difficult trip. I was so afraid that the car might break down while we were crossing the areas controlled by the Turkish-backed groups, next to al-Bab and Manbij. Even on the way to Tabqa we saw them; they were still fighting with the Syrian army in that area.
They had advanced maybe 40 to 50 kilometers from their former positions. There were a lot of checkpoints. They harassed the passers by. They seemed more like armed gangs than disciplined military forces. Unlike the al-Nusra groups, who used to show their backs to the convoy. But the majority of the road was controlled by the Turkish-backed rebels. We also saw different road signs then. I saw the convoy heading towards Aleppo. And after ten minutes of driving I looked at the sign and saw that Aleppo was getting nearer. The way is going to Idlib, we’re heading west. We felt that was a trick to drive us into a trap. We turned back; everybody told each other to turn back.
We turned back and got onto the Raqqa motorway. After crossing the checkpoints of the Turkish-backed groups, we came to a checkpoint of the Syrian Army in a place called Deir Hafir. I saw the SDF Asayish in the streets. That was a moment I can’t forget it; it was the salvation. We were alive. That gave us spirit, morale. I became happy that my kids are safe. I began to laugh with my children. We drove until we arrived in Tabqa. It was a 12 hour journey. Difficult, terrible moments I can’t forget. I saw a lot of tractors moving on deflated tyres. I saw people walking to Raqqa. I saw many sleeping on the road behind their broken cars. The convoy extended from Shehba to Tabqa. It was very long, a big number of people, around 70,000 people at least. We arrived in Tabqa in the early morning. I saw my cousin had come from Qamishlo to receive us. From there we went to Raqqa and an Arab man invited us to his home. He gave us breakfast, he was so friendly. He was a hunter, he had just got back from hunting. He presented me with some fish, some birds. I thanked him so much. Then we left for Heseke. A six hour trip. We arrived here in this town [Amude]. So for the last five days I have been here.
We are happy that we arrived here but we are still worried that the worst might even happen here: an attack on this area. If that happens, where will hundreds of thousands of people go? I have two families also with me who were in my convoy. They are living here. We are thinking to leave for the Iraqi border if this area comes under attack. We would have no choice because we don’t trust the armed groups. Never, never trust them. They are merciless, ruthless. I have seen their crimes against humanity, their abuse towards civilians, in Afrin and elsewhere.
The SNA had been created by Turkey to attack the Kurds. Led by the Turkmens and former ISIS fighters, the Free Syrian Army, common criminals, all grouped together into more than 20 armed groups. Even 50 – in the past there were 50 and then some of them merged into bigger groups. Their prime target is serving the Turkish state and attacking the Kurds, demographically cleansing the area of the Kurdish ethnicity.
During their occupation of Afrin they took a lot of spoils. Thousands of armed militiamen – Syrians from the other parts of Syria – were bussed in to Afrin at that time, according to the Astana Agreement between Russia and Iran and Turkey. Many of them joined the SNA. In Afrin, they had distributed the villages amongst themselves like the feudal lords of the Middle Age. Each group was controlling several villages, living inside the best homes, bringing their relatives with them, putting their hands on the olive crops of the region. In each village, you could see dozens of armed men living inside. It was so hard for the local Kurds and Arabs to even breathe freely. Only 20% of the locals stayed behind. The others had been displaced.
The Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, attacked [Shehba] from the east, north and west, while al-Nusra attacked from the South. They attacked Shehba from all directions. My cousin was killed while he was in a convoy. He found himself among a group of SNA militiamen carrying arms – even swords – for slaughter, to frighten the Afrin IDPs . I also heard many stories about an Arab woman beheaded by them, a Yezidi man beheaded by them. One man was with me – he was a local from Shehba, not an Afrin IDP – and he said that all the young men in his village were arrested, tortured and taken to unknown locations.
What is your current situation, and the situation of the IDPs?
There is an urgent need to look after this big number of IDPs. So far I haven’t seen an international organisation or charity providing aid here. We received some aid from the local communes and from the locals here, and I’m so thankful to them. But the big a crisis needs international intervention. Unfortunately it was like Shehba. In Shehba, for the last two years we received zero international aid. Even UNICEF which provided drinking water to the Afrin IDP camps stopped providing them with water, maybe for political reasons, I don’t know. I hope this will not happen here because people have left everything behind. It is not the first time they are being displaced. In my case it is the third time to be displaced, to leave my home. In Shehba I had established a home. The owner of the home used to visit me every year. We paid rent. We had bought electrical appliances inside the home. We had built a kitchen. I’m also worried. I’m so sad about my pets we left behind. The cats and the dog. My children are still so sad about that. Life [in Shehba] was stable. But all the time it was disturbed by Turkey’s military attacks on us.
None of my family stayed behind in Shehba. I hear that some Kurds and Arabs who were IDPs in Shehba are still there. Some of them made their way into Afrin with difficulty and some were arrested, questioned. One of my neighbours called me on the phone, he was arrested for two days. He was an Arab man, he was not a Kurd. He said they took his identity card and that the next day he would have to go for further investigation. Since then I have had no news from him. We arrived here as three families, each with family five members. One of them is a doctor, the other is a lawyer, and my wife also is a court judge, and the wife of my neighbour who came here is an Arabic teacher. It is very difficult to stay here without aid from the international community because we have no property here, we have no jobs here. If we stay here we will definitely look for a job to provide for ourselves and our families.
A few days after the above interview with Hassan Hassan was recorded, RIC asked Hassan some follow-up questions on the phone, regarding his recollection that HTS participated in the attack on Shehba. RIC also reached out to Ibrahim Sheikho, Shehba IDP and coordinator of the Human Rights Afrin organization for his comment on the same topic. The questions and answers are transcribed below.
RIC to Hassan: You say HTS also attacked?
Hassan: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham was attacking Shehba. It attacked the town of Ahdas. The battle raged inside. There were casualties from both sides.
RIC: HTS were only attacking in Ahdas, or other places in Shehba canton too?
Hassan: They also attacked the town of Babinis, Sheikh Najar, Fafeen, the infantry school of the SAA. It is now reported that they are inside some parts of Shehba, but I don’t know if they control everywhere.
RIC: Was it clear where HTS was attacking and where the SNA was attacking? How could you see the difference?
Hassan: When we were evacuated from the area we saw them. I know them by their uniforms, their vehicles, and the way they behaved with the people.
RIC: The militiamen committing the crimes you describe were HTS or SNA?
Hassan: They were SNA. They attacked Tel Rifaat and neighbouring towns.
RIC to Sheikho: To your knowledge, were HTS also involved in the attack on Shehba?
Sheikho: HTS formally never attacked the Kurdish forces. Not in Shehba or anywhere else. But it’s true that some groups from Sheikh Najar attacked Shehba, Babinis and Ahdas. But in my opinion it was the armed groups connected to the Dawn of Freedom operations room of the Opposition, not HTS. I assume HTS didn’t attack. They did not release a formal statement. I don’t believe this thing. We now have the chance to compromise with HTS. The armed groups of the Syrian Opposition attacked, carried out a massacre. I assume HTS did not enter Fafeen or Shehba. HTS was working in Aleppo city. If HTS would have attacked Shehba they would also have attacked Sheikh Maqsoud. So I assume HTS did not enter Fafeen or the other places. Those fighting there were the Hamza division, Suleiman Shah, and the al-Mutasim division, under the name of the Dawn of Freedom operations room, in the National Army connected to Turkey.
December 15, 2024
