The village of Jikhar, located southeast of the city of Kobani in northern Syria, witnessed an arrest incident involving three Kurdish citizens from the village. A party identifying itself as affiliated with the “General Security” linked to the Syrian Interim Government detained them and transferred them to an unknown location, in an incident that has raised concerns about their fate and the continued pattern of arbitrary arrests in the region.
According to documented information, the arrest took place on 4 March 2026 in the village of Jikhar, situated southeast of the city of Kobani, south of the M4 international highway.
According to the available data, individuals identifying themselves as members of the “General Security” affiliated with the Syrian Interim Government arrested three residents of the village and transferred them to an undisclosed location, without clarifying the reasons for the arrest or the authority to which they were taken. Their fate remains unknown as of the time of preparing this report.
Names of the detainees:
Ismail Mohammed Haj Barkal – born in 1971.
Salman Mustafa Haj Barkal – born in 1981.
Saleh Mohammed Haj Barkal – born in 1988.
All of the detainees are Kurdish citizens and residents of the village of Jikhar.
This incident comes in the context of a military and security escalation witnessed in the predominantly Kurdish areas of northern and eastern Syria at the beginning of 2026. The city of Kobani and its countryside, which are inhabited by a Kurdish majority, have been subjected to a tight siege imposed by factions affiliated with what is known as the “Syrian Interim Government,” including Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, coinciding with a wave of forced displacement of residents from a number of villages.
Testimonies and local sources indicate that many villages that were emptied of their residents were subsequently subjected to looting and plundering of homes and private property following the displacement, raising serious concerns about a pattern of violations that may target the population on the basis of Kurdish ethnic identity.
The continued detention of the three detainees in an undisclosed location, without any official announcement regarding the reasons for their arrest or permission for them to communicate with their families, raises concerns that they may be subjected to arbitrary detention or enforced disappearance, particularly in light of the escalating documented violations in the region in recent times.
The authorities responsible for the arrest remain obligated, in accordance with the principles of international human rights law, to disclose the whereabouts of the detainees, ensure their physical and legal safety, and enable them to communicate with their families and legal counsel.
