Documentation of the Killing of Captured Kurdish Fighters by the “Syrian Arab Army,” Including Female Combatants: A Documented War Crime During the Military Campaign in Northeast Syria

This report documents shocking scenes showing members affiliated with the entity known as the “Syrian Arab Army” (the interim authority) carrying out executions of captured Kurdish fighters, including female combatants, in a grave violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, particularly the Geneva Conventions, which categorically prohibit the killing of prisoners or any assault on their human dignity.

According to video footage published by armed elements affiliated with the so-called “Syrian Arab Army (interim authority)” on 20 January 2026, during the military campaign in northeast Syria, the scenes depict the execution of multiple prisoners from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), including female combatants, after they had been taken captive.

The footage further shows the perpetrators chanting inflammatory and degrading slogans while carrying out the killings, conduct that reflects a deliberate contempt for human life and constitutes a flagrant violation of the victims’ dignity, underscoring the intentional and systematic nature of the crime.

Under international humanitarian law, these acts constitute serious war crimes, as they directly violate:

Common Article 3 of the four Geneva Conventions (1949), which prohibits, in non-international armed conflicts, violence to life and person in all its forms, cruel treatment, and outrages upon personal dignity against persons hors de combat, including prisoners.

The Third Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, which guarantees full protection for prisoners and prohibits their killing or exposure to reprisals or humiliating and degrading treatment.

Customary international humanitarian law, which criminalizes extrajudicial executions and obliges all parties to a conflict to respect the principle of humanity in all circumstances.

Moreover, the targeting of female combatants after their capture constitutes an additional violation of special protection standards and further aggravates the gravity of the crime committed.

According to local sources and testimonies from field activists, this crime occurred within the context of a large-scale military campaign that resulted in the killing of thousands of Kurdish civilians and fighters, alongside cases of arbitrary detention and other serious violations, amid an almost complete media blackout and the absence of independent and effective accountability and investigative mechanisms.

The documentation of these scenes imposes an obligation on the international community—particularly the United Nations and relevant international human rights mechanisms—to take urgent action to:

Open an independent and impartial international investigation into these crimes.

Ensure accountability for those responsible, in accordance with the principle of non-impunity.

Provide immediate protection for civilians and prisoners in conflict areas, and exert pressure on all parties to the conflict to strictly comply with the provisions of international humanitarian law.

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