The Massacre of a Kurdish Family in Rojava
The Massacre of a Kurdish Family in Rojava
On January 18, during an offensive by the armed forces of the New Syrian Government on the city of Raqqa, a Kurdish family of twelve fleeing toward Hasakah was captured. Six family members were massacred, and the remaining six were severely wounded
The family was traveling from Raqqa to Hasakah in a "Kia truck" and were stopped near the village of Abu Khashab, located between the two cities, by an armed group affiliated with the New Syrian Government. When asked where they were from, they replied, "Raqqa." The commander then asked, "Are you Kurds or Arabs?" They responded, "We are Kurds, but we are not affiliated with any party or military force." The commander replied, "Fine, now I will end all of you!""
The commander ordered the execution of the elders. As the family attempted to exit the vehicle in terror, the gunmen opened fire. They first shot the father, Mohammed Ismail Salih (50), in the head, killing him. They then tied the hands of the mother, Sara Shahin Salih (49), behind her back and executed her with a shot to the head. Subsequently, they fired indiscriminately at the rest of the family, killing four others, including two children.
The Deceased:
Mohammed Ismail Salih (50)
Sara Shahin Salih (49)
Yusuf Mohammed Salih (20)
Layla Mohammed Salih (17)
Avin Mohammed Salih (10)
Mahmoud Ahmed Salih (26)
Following the killings, the gunmen mutilated the victims. They flayed the skin from the face of 17-year-old Layla and disemboweled her. They also gouged out the right eye of 26-year-old Mahmoud and placed an Internal Security Forces (Asayish) logo on his chest.
The remaining six family members attempted to flee, but the gunmen fired indiscriminately, severely wounding all of them. The perpetrators left the bodies at the scene and took the wounded with them. An hour later, they dumped the survivors in a desert area near Deir ez-Zor. A local family eventually found them and transported them to the Deir ez-Zor General Hospital.
At the hospital, despite their critical condition, the survivors were denied proper medical treatment. One doctor insulted them, stating, "You should have been killed too; you shouldn't have been brought here." After 40 hours, the wounded were transferred to Raqqa, where they were subsequently separated from one another.
The Wounded:
Shirin Mohammed Salih (25): Hit by four bullets in the abdomen.
Ghazal Mohammed Salih (16): Bullet wound to the leg.
Ibrahim Mohammed Salih (13): Bullet wounds to the hand and leg.
Shadi Mahmoud Salih (6): Bullet wound to the leg and facial injuries.
Lavand Mahmoud Salih (2.5 years old): Bullet grazed the scalp; suffered head injuries and lost two fingers on the right hand.
Ibrahim Mahmoud Salih (4): Bullet wounds to the leg and genitals.
Two days after the incident, residents of Abu Khashab village collected the bodies of the deceased and took them to the Deir ez-Zor Provincial Hospital. To date, the bodies remain at the hospital and have not yet been buried.
The killing of civilians, the mutilation of bodies, the terrorizing of detainees, and indiscriminate firing constitute major human rights violations and atrocities committed by the armed forces of the New Syrian Government during their recent offensives in North and East Syria and Kurdish-populated areas.
CPT has documentation of this massacre and has verified the details of the event
CPT will continue to record and document the violations committed against civilians in North and East Syria by Syrian government forces