Kurdish soldiers defecting from Syrian army

by

Isa Hussein

20 year-old Isa Hussein, a Kurdish soldier in the Syrian army was killed last week for refusing to shoot civilians during the uprising. Hundreds of Kurds have escaped to Southern Kurdistan against the regime’s brutal crackdown. They have described in harrowing details the horrifying ordeal that protesters and their families are subject to under the Syrian authoritarian regime.

One Kurdish defected soldier, who has spoken to journalists under the pseudonym of Maxim Kawa said he was commanded to shoot at protesters, and often men were dragged out of their houses with their hands tied behind their backs, and “We put them against a wall and shot them,” he said.

Another soldier who defected, 21-year old Rolat Azad explained that women were routinely raped by Syrian soldiers, houses looted and many were killed afterwards. “They gave us orders: ‘You are free to do what you like,’ he said.

Women’s Media Center have begun using crowd-sourcing techniques to record rape and sexual violence cases in Syria. The women right’s group aims to build up sufficient evidence for prosecuting those responsible on grounds of war crimes.

The group has posted more than 20 stories, and was launched on Wednesday. This project was launched by Lauren Wolfe, who is the director of Women Under Siege. She said, “Any tool that we can use to highlight what’s happening on the ground and document human rights abuse, atrocities and incidences of sexual violence is useful for accountability”.