UN Warns of Possible War Crimes in Turkish-Controlled Syria

Turkey-backed Syrian fighters in Saraqib, eastern Idlib province. (AFP)
Turkey-backed Syrian fighters in Saraqib, eastern Idlib province. (AFP)
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UN Warns of Possible War Crimes in Turkish-Controlled Syria

Turkey-backed Syrian fighters in Saraqib, eastern Idlib province. (AFP)
Turkey-backed Syrian fighters in Saraqib, eastern Idlib province. (AFP)

Armed groups in the area of northern Syria controlled by Turkey may have committed war crimes and other violations of international law, the UN rights chief said Friday.

Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the situation in those areas of Syria was grim, with violence and criminality rife.

In a statement, Bachelet's UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) said it had noted an "alarming pattern in recent months of grave violations", having documented increased killings, kidnappings, unlawful transfers of people, seizures of land and properties and forcible evictions.

The victims include people perceived to be allied with opposing parties or as being critical of the actions of the Turkish-affiliated armed groups, Bachelet's office said.

Those affiliated groups have also seized and looted houses, land and property without any apparent military necessity, said OHCHR.

Furthermore, increased infighting among the various Turkish-affiliated armed groups over power-sharing was causing civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.

Turkey condemnation

The Turkish foreign ministry later Friday took umbrage at Bachelet's statement and "strongly condemned the failure to mention the Syrian regime and the PKK/YPG terrorist organization, which are the main cause of the violations in the report".

Ankara considers the US-backed Syrian Kurdish YPG group a terrorist organization linked to outlawed PKK Kurdish insurgents in Turkey.

"We totally reject the unfounded allegations against Syrian opposition groups" and the "baseless claims against our country in connection with these groups," it said.

The ministry in a statement also accused Bachelet of "undue criticism" and said Ankara would notify the UN of its "views and challenges" related to the report.

Turkey controls large stretches of northeastern Syria through various armed groups, and is conducting operations aimed at driving out Kurdish and extremist factions.

In October last year, Turkish forces and their Syrian proxies occupied a 120-kilometre (75-mile) stretch of land inside the Syrian border from Kurdish forces.

Ankara has also deployed forces in several military posts it established in northwestern Idlib as part of a 2018 deal with regime ally Moscow, while Turkey also controls a stretch of territory along its border in neighboring Aleppo province following a series of military offensives since 2016.

Call for investigation

Bachelet's office said it had documented the abduction and disappearance of civilians, including women and children.

It also said that from the start of the year until last Monday, it had verified the deaths of at least 116 civilians as a result of improvised explosive devices and explosive remnants of war, while a further 463 civilians were injured.

"I urge Turkey to immediately launch an impartial, transparent and independent investigation into the incidents we have verified, account for the fate of those detained and abducted by the affiliated armed groups and hold accountable those responsible for what may, in some instances, amount to crimes under international law, including war crimes," Bachelet said.

"This is all the more vital given that we have received disturbing reports that some detainees and abductees have allegedly been transferred to Turkey following their detention in Syria by affiliated armed groups."

Meanwhile Bachelet voiced concern that parties to the conflict in Syria were using essential services as a weapon.

"Impeding access to water, sanitation and electricity endangers the lives of large numbers of people, a danger rendered all the more acute amid fighting a global pandemic," she said.



Israeli Army Says Approved Plan for New Gaza Offensive

Palestinians, displaced by the Israeli offensive, shelter in a tent camp on a beach amid summer heat in Gaza City, August 12, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians, displaced by the Israeli offensive, shelter in a tent camp on a beach amid summer heat in Gaza City, August 12, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
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Israeli Army Says Approved Plan for New Gaza Offensive

Palestinians, displaced by the Israeli offensive, shelter in a tent camp on a beach amid summer heat in Gaza City, August 12, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Palestinians, displaced by the Israeli offensive, shelter in a tent camp on a beach amid summer heat in Gaza City, August 12, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

The Israeli military said Wednesday it had approved the "framework" for a new offensive in the Gaza Strip, days after the security cabinet called for the seizure of Gaza City.

Armed forces chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir "approved the main framework for the IDF's operational plan in the Gaza Strip," a statement released by the army said.

Prime Benjamin Minister Netanyahu's government has not provided a precise timetable for when Israeli troops will enter the territory's largest city, where thousands have taken refuge after fleeing previous offensives.

Netanyahu reiterated an idea - also enthusiastically floated by US President Donald Trump - that Palestinians should simply leave the enclave housing more than 2 million people after nearly two years of conflict.

"They’re not being pushed out, they’ll be allowed to exit," he told Israeli television channel i24NEWS. "All those who are concerned for the Palestinians and say they want to help the Palestinians should open their gates and stop lecturing us."

Arabs and many world leaders are aghast at the idea of displacing the Gaza population, which Palestinians say would be like another "Nakba" (catastrophe) when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced out during a 1948 war.

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli air strikes on Gaza City have intensified in recent days, with the residential neighborhoods of Zeitoun and Sabra hit "with very heavy air strikes targeting civilian homes, possibly including high-rise buildings.”

News of the military's approval of the plan comes hours after Hamas said a senior delegation had arrived in Cairo for "preliminary talks" with Egyptian officials on a temporary truce.

Hamas chief negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya's meetings with Egyptian officials in Cairo were to focus on stopping the war, delivering aid and "ending the suffering of our people in Gaza," Hamas official Taher al-Nono said in a statement.

Egyptian security sources said the talks would also discuss the possibility of a comprehensive ceasefire that would see Hamas relinquish governance in Gaza and concede its weapons.