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Forced disappearances in Syria leave invisible toll

Syrians continue to look for their loved ones, believed imprisoned or executed by the Islamic State.
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QAMISHLI, Syria — Aslan Brim Sino, a Kurd, was killed July 3 in a prison in northwestern Syria, in the countryside of the city of Afrin. The prison was run by al-Moutasem Brigade, a pro-Turkey Islamic faction. Sino had been detained by al-Moutasem Brigades for 10 months, though he had originally been kidnapped ​in the village of Baadalni by another Islamic faction, Ahfad al-Rasoul, in July 2018. When his family failed to provide the $5,000 ransom, Sino was turned over to al-Moutasem Brigade, which now refuses to return the body to his family.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that 2,038 Afrin residents have been detained by Turkish forces and supporting factions since last year.

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