Human rights in Syria explained

There has been a varying nature of human rights under various governments that ruled Syria since the French colonial rule in Syria starting in the 1920s.

History of human rights

French rule (1920–1946)

From the early 1920s until 1946, Syria and Lebanon were under the control of a French Mandate, officially ratified by the League of Nations on 29 September 1923.[1] Human rights concerns during this period included the colonialist treatment of the Druze within their autonomous state in the southern portion of the mandate, as prisoners and peasants there were often used for forced labor.[2]

During the Great Revolt, French military forces sieged much of Damascus and the countryside,[3] killing at least 7,000 rebels and displacing over 100,000 civilians. Authorities would publicly display mutilated corpses in central squares within Damascus and villages throughout Syria as a means of intimidating opponents of the government.[4] In 1926, the Damascus military court executed 355 Syrians without any legal representation.[5] Hundreds of Syrians were sentenced to death in absentia, prison terms of various lengths, and life imprisonment with hard labour.

Additionally, it was during this period that Syrian Women's Rights groups began to assert themselves, led by individuals like Naziq al-Abid.[6] [7]

Post–1948

Jews in Syria have been discriminated against, especially since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. In 1948, Jews were banned from leaving the country and from selling their property. In 1953, all Jewish bank accounts were frozen and Jewish property confiscated. In 1954, Jews were temporarily permitted to emigrate, but they had to leave all their property to the government[8]

Ba'athist era (1963–2024)

The coup d'etat in 1963 staged by the Military Committee of the Syrian Ba'ath party overthrew the Second Syrian Republic headed by President Nazim al-Qudsi, ushering in decades-long Baathist rule. The new regime implemented social engineering policies such as large-scale confiscation of properties, state directed re-distribution of lands and wealth, massive censorship, elimination of independent publishing centres, nationalization of banks, education system and industries. A state of emergency was declared which abolished all other political parties and bestowed sweeping powers upon the military; effectively ruling the country as police state. Purges were carried out throughout the civil society, bureaucracy; and the army was packed with party loyalists. Syrian Ba'athists were highly influenced by Akram Hawrani's Arab Socialist party which adhered to Marxism.[9]

In March 1964, Jews were banned from traveling more than 5km (03miles) from their hometowns.[10] Jews were not allowed to work for the government or banks, could not acquire drivers' licenses, and were banned from purchasing property. Although Jews were prohibited from leaving the country, they were sometimes allowed to travel abroad for commercial or medical reasons. Any Jew granted clearance to leave the country had to leave behind a bond of $300–$1,000 and family members to be used as hostages to ensure they returned. An airport road was paved over the Jewish cemetery in Damascus, and Jewish schools were closed and handed over to Muslims. The Jewish Quarter of Damascus was under constant surveillance by the secret police, who were present at synagogue services, weddings, bar mitzvahs, and other Jewish gatherings. The secret police closely monitored contact between Syrian Jews and foreigners and kept a file on every member of the Jewish community. Jews also had their phones tapped and their mail read by the secret police.[11] [12] After Israel's victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, restrictions were further tightened, and 57 Jews in Qamishli may have been killed in a pogrom. The communities of Damascus, Aleppo, and Qamishli were under house arrest for eight months following the war. Many Jewish workers were laid off following the Six-Day War.

After purging rival Baathist factions through a coup in 1970, General Hafez al-Assad established total dominance over the Ba'ath party and established a dictatorship centred around his personality cult. Structure of Assad's police state revolved around the Ba'ath party organization, Syrian military establishment packed with Ba'athist elites and Assad family's Alawite loyalists. Hafez ruled Syria for three decades, deploying repressive measures ranging from censorship to violent methods of state terror such as mass murders, deportations and practices such as torture, which were unleashed collectively upon the civilian population.[13] SS-Haupsturmfuhrer Alois Brunner, who played a significant role in the implementation of the Holocaust as the right-hand man of Adolf Eichmann, assisted al-Assad in organizing the Ba'athist secret police and trained them on Nazi Germany's torture practices.[14] [15] Such practices remained in use by 2021.

In 1982, Hafez al-Assad responded to an insurrection led by the Muslim Brotherhood in the city of Hama by sending a paramilitary force that indiscriminately killed between 10,000 and 55,000 civilians including children, women, and the elderly during the Hama massacre.[16] [17] State-violence perpetrated by Assad's reign have targeted women extensively, subjecting them to discrimination and gender-based violence.[18] Between 1980 and 2000, more than 17,000 Syrian civilians were subjected to forced disappearance from the Syrian regime. During Baathist occupation of Lebanon, numerous Lebanese, Palestinian and other Arab civilians went missing. More than 35 torture techniques were reported to be employed in Syrian prisons and military detention centres during this time.[19] A 1983 report published by Amnesty International revealed that Assad regime routinely committed mass-executions of alleged dissidents and engaged in the extensive torture of prisoners of conscience. Various torture methods in Syrian prisons include electrocutions, ablazing, sexual violence, castration, etc.[20]

In 2000, Bashar al-Assad inherited the totalitarian system of Ba'athist Syria following the death of his father. His regime was characterized by even more systemic violence and repression than that of Hafez al-Assad. This has been widely attributed to Bashar's inexperience in security and political affairs, in addition to personal insecurities regarding the survival of his family regime.[21] 2006 Freedom House report listed Syria amongst the worst countries to restrict civil liberties and political freedoms; giving it the lowest possible scores in both measures.[22] In 2023, Freedom House rated people's access to political rights in Syria as the lowest on its Freedom in the World annual report on 210 countries. Syria ranked "-3" in political rights – lower than its scale of 1 to 7, alongside South Sudan and Western Sahara – and Syria was given a rating of "Not Free."[23] [24] Since 2022, Syria has the lowest ranked country in report.[25]

According to the 2008 report on human rights by the U.S. State Department, the Syrian government's "respect for human rights worsened". Members of the security forces arrested and detained individuals without providing just cause, often held prisoners in "lengthy pretrial and incommunicado detention", and "tortured and physically abused prisoners and detainees". The government imposed significant restrictions on freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association, amid an atmosphere of government corruption.[26] According to Arab Press Network, "despite a generally repressive political climate", there were "signs of positive change," during the 2007 elections.[27] According to a 2008 report by Reporters without Borders, "Journalists have to tightly censor themselves for fear of being thrown into Adra Prison."[28]

In 2009 Syria was included in Freedom House's "Worst of the Worst" section and given a rating of 7 for Political Rights: and 6 for Civil Liberties.[29] According to Human Rights Watch, as of 2009 Syria's poor human rights situation had "deteriorated further". Authorities arrested political and human rights activists, censored websites, detained bloggers, and imposed travel bans. Syria's multiple security agencies continue to detain people without arrest warrants. No political parties were licensed and emergency rule, imposed in 1963, remained in effect.[30] Various torture techniques deployed in Syrian detention centres and prisons include routine beatings, rapes, sexual violence, "Bisat al-rih" (flying carpet), etc.[31]

The scale of the brutal violence and state terrorism unleashed by the Assad regime and his foreign backers across the country after the eruption of the 2011 Syrian revolution was unprecedented, far outstripping the actions of other Arab autocrats who repressed the Arab Spring. It even exceeded the brutal violence unleashed by Hafez al-Assad during the Hama Massacre. By pursuing scorched-earth policies to crush the armed resistance, Bashar had destroyed majority of Syria's civilian, cultural and economic infrastructure. Unlike his father, Bashar killed far more Syrian civilians and has also lost significant amount of his political independence to foreign actors like Russia and Iran.[32]

In April 2017, the U.S. Navy carried out a missile attack against a Syrian air base[33] which had been used to conduct a chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians.[34] This attack is also known as the 2017 Shayrat missile strike. In 2018, coalition forces including United States, France, and the United Kingdom also carried out a series of military strikes in Syria.

After the Assad regime (2024–present)

Human rights in the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria

Human rights violations against Kurds included depriving ethnic Kurdish citizens of their citizenship; suppressing Kurdish language and culture; discrimination against citizens based on Kurdish ethnicity; confiscation of Kurdish land and settlement by Arabs.[35] [36] [37] In the course of the Syrian Civil War, parts of Northern Syria gained de facto autonomy within the Kurdish-led Democratic Federation of Northern Syria.

In a report "'We Had Nowhere Else to Go': Forced Displacement and Demolition in Northern Syria", Amnesty International documented allegations of forced evictions of Arabs, Turkmens and Kurds and the destruction of their homes. According to Amnesty International, YPG accused them of having links with ISIL and other Islamist groupa. The report said that "in some cases, entire villages have been demolished", and that villagers were "ordered to leave at gunpoint, their livestock shot at". Some persons claimed to Amnesty that "they told us we had to leave or they would tell the US coalition that we were terrorists and their planes would hit us and our families. Threats by the YPG of calling in US airstrikes against villagers were reported. Amnesty International claimed that "these instances of forced displacement constitute war crimes".[38] [39] [40] [41] Some Arab and Turkmen claimed that YPG militias have stolen their homes and livestock, burned their personal documents and claimed the land as theirs, and that Turkmen "are losing lands where they have been living for centuries".[42] During the Syrian civil war, several attacks by Arab or Kurdish Muslims have targeted Syrian Christians, including the 2015 al-Qamishli bombings. In January 2016, YPG militias conducted a surprise attack on Assyrian checkpoints in Qamishli, in a predominantly Assyrian area, killing one Assyrian and wounding three others.[43] [44] [45]

In October 2015, Amnesty International reported that the YPG had driven civilians from northern Syria and destroyed their homes in retaliation for perceived links to ISIL. The majority of the destroyed homes belonged to Arabs, but some belonged to Turkmens and Kurds.[46] Turkish "Daily Sabah" claimed that Amnesty International has said that Kurdish PYD conducted ethnic cleansing against Turkmens and Arabs after seizing Tal Abyad.[47] However, Amnesty International has published only one report about the Syrian Kurdish forces and it is related to destroying villages and homes, not ethnic cleansing at all.[48] The Amnesty International report concluded that there are documented cases of forced displacement that constitute war crimes.[49] In 2015, Assyrian and Armenian organizations protested the enforcement of Kurdish self-administration in the Hasaka province, including expropriation of private property by the PYD and interference in church school curricula and also criticized illegal seizure of property, and targeted killings[50] [51] [52] Assyrians have also criticized the enforcement of revisionist curricula in private and public schools with a Kurdish-nationalist bias. They have claimed that in textbooks the Kurds "alter historical and geographical facts", including Assyrian place names which are changed to Kurdish names, and students are taught that King Nebuchadnezzar from the Old Testament married a Kurdish woman.[53] [54] Of particular concern are the "harassment and arbitrary arrests of the PYD's Kurdish political rivals" and of civil society leaders noted by human rights organizations.[55] The Y.P.G. is accused of having arrested hundreds of political prisoners. It is claimed that about 150 people were abducted by the Y.P.G. in 2013 alone. Human Rights Watch reported in 2014 that "there have been numerous cases of maltreatment in prisons in Rojava". Some dissidents were tortured and killed[56] Amnesty International reported in 2015 that the PYD "is using a crackdown against terrorism...as a pretext to unlawfully detain and unfairly try peaceful critics and civilians."[57] [58] [59] The PYD has also shot demonstrators, arrested political opponents, and shut down media outlets.[60] [61] [62] Ethnic tensions between Kurds and Arabs have been at the forefront of the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. In Syria, there are widespread reports of Kurdish abuses against Arab civilians,[60] including arbitrary arrests, forced displacement,[63] and reports of YPG forces razing villages.[64] Similar reports of Kurdish forces destroying Arab homes have emerged in the fight for Mosul.[65] [62]

See also

References and footnotes

External links

Notes and References

  1. League of Nations Official Journal, Vol 3, August 1922, p1013
  2. Book: Miller, Joyce Laverty. International Journal of Middle East Studies. 1977. 550–555. The Syrian Revolt of 1925.
  3. Book: Provence, Michael. The Great Syrian Revolt: And the Rise of Arab Nationalism. limited. 2005. University of Texas Press. 87–107. The Spread of Rebellion.
  4. Web site: Colonial Origins of the Syrian Security State. 2 March 2013. Michael Provence . Jamal Wakim . Al Akhbar English . 4 October 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20130731090316/http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/colonial-origins-syrian-security-state. 31 July 2013. live.
  5. Book: Liberal Thought in the Eastern Mediterranean: Late 19th Century Until the 1960s. Brill. 2 March 2013. Christoph Schumann. 70–71. 31 October 2008. 978-90-04-16548-9. https://web.archive.org/web/20160617110834/https://books.google.com/books?id=kgfVNLWuy80C&pg=PA70. 17 June 2016. live.
  6. Thompson. Elizabeth. 2011-05-01. Le mouvement féminin et l'essor de l'État-providence colonial en Syrie (1920-1946). . fr. 33. 107–124. 10.4000/clio.10030. 1252-7017. free.
  7. Book: Moubayed, Sami. Steel & Silk: Men and Women who Shaped Syria 1900-2000. 2006. Cune Press. 978-1-885942-40-1. 360.
  8. https://www.nationalreview.com/2013/09/thank-god-there-are-almost-no-jews-syria-now-lela-gilbert Thank God there are almost no Jews in Syria now
  9. Web site: 8 March 2023 . This day in history: The Ba'ath Party comes to power in Syria . https://web.archive.org/web/20230309190918/https://en.majalla.com/node/287416/documents-memoirs/day-history-ba%E2%80%99ath-party-comes-power-syria . 9 March 2023 . Al Majalla.
  10. Web site: Jews of Syria. www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org. 2019-06-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20180617092914/https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jews-of-syria. 17 June 2018. live.
  11. Web site: Jews in Islamic Countries: Syria . 17 June 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161217101221/http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/syrianjews.html . 17 December 2016 . live .
  12. Congressional Record, V. 146, Part 10, July 10 to July 17, 2000
  13. Book: Ma'oz, Moshe . Dictators and Autocrats: Securing Power across Global Politics . Routledge . 2022 . 978-0-367-60786-9 . Larres . Klaus . 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 . 249–250, 252 . 15: The Assad dynasty . 10.4324/9781003100508. 239130832 .
  14. Taub . Ben . 13 September 2021 . How a Syrian War criminal and Double Agent Disappeared in Europe . https://web.archive.org/web/20230618034729/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/09/20/how-a-syrian-war-criminal-and-double-agent-disappeared-in-europe . 18 June 2023 . The New Yorker.
  15. Web site: Chandler . Adam . Eichmann's Best Man Lived and Died in Syria . . 7 October 2024 . 1 December 2014.
  16. Syrian Reform: What Lies Beneath . Farid N. . Ghadry . Winter 2005 . The Middle East Quarterly . 2 April 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110304204216/http://www.meforum.org/683/syrian-reform-what-lies-beneath . 4 March 2011 . live .
  17. Syrian Human Rights Committee, The Massacre of Hama, 19 February 2004, reporting 30,000-40,000 massacred and 10,000-15,000 disappeared.
  18. Web site: Amnesty International Report 2009, Syria. 28 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20091007231314/http://thereport.amnesty.org/en/regions/middle-east-north-africa/syria. 7 October 2009.
  19. Book: Human Slaughterhouse: Mass Hangings and Extermination at Sednaya Prison, Syria . Amnesty International . 2017 . Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street, London WC1X 0DW, UK . 11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220201074700/https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2021/05/MDE2454152017ARABIC.pdf . 1 February 2022 .
  20. Book: Ma'oz, Moshe . Dictators and Autocrats: Securing Power across Global Politics . Routledge . 2022 . 978-0-367-60786-9 . Larres . Klaus . 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 . 257 . 15: The Assad dynasty . 10.4324/9781003100508. 239130832 .
  21. Book: Ma'oz, Moshe . Dictators and Autocrats: Securing Power across Global Politics . Routledge . 2022 . 978-0-367-60786-9 . Larres . Klaus . 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 . 249–250, 258 . 15: The Assad dynasty . 10.4324/9781003100508. 239130832 .
  22. Web site: 2005-12-16 . Freedom in the World 2006 . http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090713221035/http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/pdf/Charts2006.pdf . 2009-07-13 . 2006-07-27 . Freedom House. See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom
  23. Web site: Freedom in the World 2006 . . 2005-12-16 . 2006-07-27 . http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090713221035/http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/pdf/Charts2006.pdf . 2009-07-13 .
    See also Freedom in the World 2006, List of indices of freedom
  24. Web site: Countries and Territories . 2022-11-26 . Freedom House . en.
  25. Web site: Syria: Freedom in the World 2022 Country Report . 2022-11-26 . Freedom House . en.
  26. https://web.archive.org/web/20090226174658/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/nea/119127.htm 2008 Human Rights Report: Syria
  27. Web site: The Arab Press Network . 2010-03-06 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110721002827/http://www.arabpressnetwork.org/articlesv2.php?id=1226 . 2011-07-21 .
  28. https://archive.today/20120910012913/http://www.rsf.org/Syria.html Syria
  29. http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=384&key=233&parent=22&report=81 Special Report Section
  30. https://www.hrw.org/world-report-2010 World Report 2010 Human Rights Watch World Report 2010
  31. News: Khan . Azmat . 14 March 2012 . Syria One Year Later: Growing Evidence of Torture, Detainee Abuse . PBS News . https://web.archive.org/web/20151123184819/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/syria-one-year-later-growing-evidence-of-torture-detainee-abuse/ . 23 November 2015.
  32. Book: Ma'oz, Moshe . Dictators and Autocrats: Securing Power across Global Politics . Routledge . 2022 . 978-0-367-60786-9 . Larres . Klaus . 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 . 249–250, 259–263 . 15: The Assad dynasty . 10.4324/9781003100508. 239130832 .
  33. Web site: US launches missiles into Syria in response to chemical weapons attack. Jennifer. Griffin. . 6 April 2017. 28 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170428091158/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/04/06/us-launches-missiles-into-syria-in-response-to-chemical-weapons-attack.html. 28 April 2017. live.
  34. News: Deadly nerve agent sarin used in Syria attack, Turkish Health Ministry says. . 28 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20190405061642/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/turkish-autopsies-confirm-chemical-weapons-used-in-syria-attack-that-killed-scores/2017/04/06/4d660ac4-1aa7-11e7-8003-f55b4c1cfae2_story.html. 5 April 2019. live.
  35. Web site: Persecution and Discrimination against Kurdish Citizens in Syria, Report for the 12th session of the UN Human Rights Council. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 2009. 18 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161025095237/http://lib.ohchr.org/HRBodies/UPR/Documents/session12/SY/KIS-KurdsinSyria-eng.pdf. 25 October 2016. live.
  36. Web site: SYRIA: The Silenced Kurds; Vol. 8, No. 4(E). Human Rights Watch. 1996. 4 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20170312084700/https://www.hrw.org/reports/1996/Syria.htm. 12 March 2017. live.
  37. Book: Tejel, Jordi. Syria's kurds history, politics and society. 2009. Routledge. London. 978-0-203-89211-4. X. 1. publ.. Welle, Jane. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001038/http://www.kurdipedia.org/books/74488.pdf. 2016-03-04.
  38. Web site: Amnesty International accuses Kurdish YPG of war crimes. 13 October 2015. 26 November 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20151014141207/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/10/syria-turkey-right-groups-accused-kurds-rojava-of-war-crimes.html. 14 October 2015.
  39. Web site: Document. 12 October 2015 . 28 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20151013105238/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde24/2503/2015/en/. 13 October 2015. live.
  40. Web site: US-backed Kurdish forces 'committing war crimes against Syrian civilians'. Associated Press. 13 October 2015. 28 April 2017. The Guardian. https://web.archive.org/web/20170301123232/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/13/us-backed-kurdish-forces-committing-war-crimes-against-syrian-civilians. 1 March 2017. live.
  41. Web site: Amnesty International wirft Kurden Vertreibung von Arabern vor. Peter. Mühlbauer. 13 October 2015 . 28 April 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20151016014344/http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/46/46247/1.html. 16 October 2015. live.
  42. Web site: Ethnic cleansing charged as Kurds move on Islamic State town in Syria. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20150928090336/http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/article24785716.html. 2015-09-28. 2020-11-14.
  43. Web site: Kurdish YPG Forces Attack Assyrians in Syria, 1 Assyrian, 3 Kurds Killed. aina.org. 2019-06-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20160419152622/http://www.aina.org/news/20160112034707.htm. 19 April 2016. live.
  44. Web site: Revisiting Kurdish Tolerance: YPG Attacks Assyrian Militia. Antonopoulos. Paul. 2016-01-12. AMN – Al-Masdar News المصدر نيوز. en-US. 2019-06-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20160513190634/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/revisiting-kurdish-tolerance-ypg-attacks-assyrian-militia/. 13 May 2016. live.
  45. Web site: Syria's Christians pressured by forced PYD assimilation. aa.com.tr. 2019-06-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20190617063809/https://www.aa.com.tr/en/politics/syrias-christians-pressured-by-forced-pyd-assimilation/541614. 17 June 2019. live.
  46. News: Syria Kurds 'razing villages seized from IS' -Amnesty- BBC News. 21 January 2016. BBC News. en-GB. https://web.archive.org/web/20160131021938/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-34511134. 31 January 2016. live.
  47. News: The PYDs ethnic cleansing. 21 January 2016. DailySabah. https://web.archive.org/web/20160127211524/http://www.dailysabah.com/columns/yahya_bostan/2015/10/26/the-pyds-ethnic-cleansing. 27 January 2016. live.
  48. News: The official Amnesty International report. 21 January 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160106142747/http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/syria_nowhere_to_go_english-final.pdf. 6 January 2016. live.
  49. Web site: Document. 12 October 2015 . 23 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20151013105238/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde24/2503/2015/en/. 13 October 2015. live.
  50. Web site: PYD Impose Kurdish Education Curricula on Assyrians, Arabs in Syria. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20161229035514/http://aina.org/news/20160524145527.htm. 29 December 2016. 2020-11-14. Aina.
  51. Web site: Assyrian Organizations Issue Joint Statement on Human Rights Violations in North-east Syria. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190617143359/http://www.aina.org/news/20151110161115.htm. 2019-06-17. 2020-11-14. aina.org.
  52. Web site: The Kurds and Assyrians: Everything You Didn't Know. 2020-11-14. aina.org.
  53. News: Kurden und Christen: Ein Krieg um Schulbücher bestimmt Syriens Zukunft. Kamischli. 2016-05-20. 2019-06-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20161201135148/https://www.welt.de/politik/ausland/article155513600/Ein-Krieg-um-Schulbuecher-bestimmt-Syriens-Zukunft.html. 1 December 2016. live.
  54. Web site: PYD Impose Kurdish Education Curricula on Assyrians, Arabs in Syria. aina.org. 2019-06-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20161229035514/http://aina.org/news/20160524145527.htm. 29 December 2016. live.
  55. Web site: HRW, Under Kurdish rule, 2014 . 2 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924190126/http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/syria0614_kurds_ForUpload.pdf . 24 September 2015 . live .
  56. News: Orton. Kyle W.. 2017-06-06. Opinion The Error of Arming the Syrian Kurds (Published 2017). en-US. The New York Times. live. 2020-11-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20181002181140/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/06/opinion/syria-kurds-isis-raqqa.html. 2018-10-02. 0362-4331.
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  58. Web site: 2016-12-04. Four Myths about the Kurds, Debunked. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20240113123651/https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/four-myths-about-kurds-debunked. 2024-01-13. 2020-11-14. Lawfare. en.
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  63. Web site: Syrian Kurds Accused of Human Rights Abuses Against Arabs. Voice of America. en. 2019-06-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20190617063814/https://www.voanews.com/world-news/middle-east-dont-use/syrian-kurds-accused-human-rights-abuses-against-arabs. 17 June 2019. live.
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  65. Web site: Iraqi Kurdistan: Arab Homes Destroyed After ISIS Battles. 2016-11-13. Human Rights Watch. en. 2019-06-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20180803111407/https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/11/13/iraqi-kurdistan-arab-homes-destroyed-after-isis-battles. 3 August 2018. live.