August 28, 2018
Turkey’s armed groups in the Syrian city of Afrin have kidnapped civilians to collect large ransoms as a new means of obtaining substantial money after scarcity and depletion of other sources of graft that came with occupation of the region by the Turkish army at end of March.
Sources close to so-called “national army” told the Syrian media that “his military police, judicial officer, has complaints from parents about kidnapping of nine people, including two women from Afrin residents during last two weeks, at a time when numbers of abductees over past five months more than 60 Hijackers accused the armed groups of being behind kidnappings and most of them were released after obtaining large financial ransoms with US dollar. “
The sources pointed out that ransom demanded by kidnappers victims usually exceeds 10,000 US dollars , while price of “head” of one of kidnapped to 50 thousand US Dollar , unlike kidnappings that affected medical cadres in Idlib province , according to which hijackers by fighters was get to 200 thousand Dollars for releasing two doctors. “
At a time when relatives of one of the abductees are unable to secure 15,000 dollars for releasing of the forty ‘R M ‘ kidnapped a month ago, yesterday was released of a young woman from Afrin city after being held for five days in one of the factions of so-called” Free Army “and after the hijackers received $ 10 thousand of its people in addition to theft her golden estimated by one of her relatives worth 400 Thousand Syrian pounds.
The kidnappings in Afrin recently spread after lack of properties and stolen crops that had been looted when armed groups entered Afrin, while some faction leaders were recruited by Turkish army’s “supporters” to rob the region’s vast relics, most of which return back to Roman era.
