Terrorists from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have kidnapped 17 families who were visiting their relatives for Eid, one of the most important holidays in the Muslim calendar, in Syria’s Tal Abyad, Manbij and Raqqa regions, according to reports.
The reason behind the abduction of civilians is their admiration for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and having photos of him on their mobile phones.
Speaking to Yeni Safak daily, 25-year-old Rima said that her mother and two siblings were detained while travelling to visit her uncle, and added that “PKK terrorists, after checking their phones, had seen that they liked Erdogan’s photos on social media. They are not allowing them to leave Manbij. We are worried about them.”
Pro-Assad Shabbiha forces also kidnapped three civilians visiting their families for the Eid feast in Aleppo, including a female lawyer, accusing them of supporting Erdogan on social media platforms.
Families of the victims who spoke to Yeni Şafak said, “They went to Aleppo to visit relatives but were detained with the charges of supporting Erdogan and are being interrogated and tortured in a center belonging to the Mukhabarat Jawiyyeh [Syrian air force intelligence services].”
Abu Naim, who has visited his family in Aleppo on holidays for the last two years, said that they paid PKK terrorists a great deal of money for their travels from Azaz to Aleppo.
“Last year, we were travelling using the Afrin route; this year we changed it to Manbij,” he added.
“At a check point established in the Ta'ana district, they detained my nephew when seeing Erdogan’s photos on his phone. Along the route, security is provided by the looting Shabbiha forces and PKK terrorists.
“We haven’t had any news from my 17-year-old nephew who was detained on the way back. Officials in Aleppo say they have no such a prisoner.”
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.
