Syrian Democratic Forces carried out raids on Abu al Neitel village which is administratively a part of Soor town in the northern suburbs of Deir Ez-Zour governorate on January 1, 2021. SNHR has documented that nine civilians, including a child, were arrested in the raids and taken to an undisclosed location.We note that no members of the detainees’ families have been informed of the reason for their arrests or of their current whereabouts, with the phones of the detained civilians being confiscated, preventing them from contacting their families or lawyers. SNHR fears that they will be subjected to torture and ultimately classified as forcibly ‘disappeared’, like approximately 85 percent of all detained persons.
SNHR notes that about 3,398 Syrian citizens are still detained or forcibly disappeared in the SDF’s detention centers, constituting a grave threat to their wellbeing given the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
