Syrian government forces killed six members of Kurdish family, CPT says

Armed forces of the Syrian government killed six members of a Kurdish family and wounded six others on Jan. 18 as the family tried to flee Raqqa toward Hasakah, according to Community Peacemaker Teams – Iraqi Kurdistan, an American human rights organization.

In a statement, CPT said the family was traveling in a Kia truck near the village of Abu Khashab when they were stopped by an armed group affiliated with the Syrian government. The group asked where the family was from and, after they replied “Raqqa,” the commander asked, “Are you Kurds or Arabs?” the statement said. The family responded, “We are Kurds, but we are not affiliated with any party or military force.” The commander then said, “Fine, now I will end all of you!”

CPT said the attackers shot the father, Mohammed Ismail Salih, 50, in the head and executed the mother, Sara Shahin Salih, 49, after tying her hands behind her back. Four other relatives were also killed, CPT said: Yusuf Mohammed Salih, 20; Layla Mohammed Salih, 17; Avin Mohammed Salih, 10; and Mahmoud Ahmed Salih, 26.

The organization said the attackers mutilated the bodies. CPT reported that the perpetrators flayed the face of Layla and disemboweled her, gouged out Mahmoud’s eye and placed an Internal Security Forces (Asayish) logo on his chest.

CPT said the six surviving family members were wounded as they tried to flee, and that the gunmen transported them and later abandoned them in a desert area near Deir ez-Zor. A local family found the wounded and brought them to Deir ez-Zor General Hospital, CPT said.

According to CPT, the wounded were denied adequate medical treatment at the hospital. One doctor allegedly insulted them, saying, “You should have been killed too; you shouldn’t have been brought here.” CPT said that after about 40 hours, the injured were transferred to Raqqa, where they were separated.

CPT identified the wounded as Shirin Mohammed Salih, 25; Ghazal Mohammed Salih, 16; Ibrahim Mohammed Salih, 13; Shadi Mahmoud Salih, 6; Lavand Mahmoud Salih, 2; and Ibrahim Mahmoud Salih, 4. CPT said injuries ranged from abdominal and leg wounds to head trauma and the loss of fingers.

Two days after the attack, residents of Abu Khashab collected the bodies and transported them to the Deir ez-Zor Provincial Hospital, where they remain unburied, according to CPT.

CPT described the killings, mutilations and the treatment of survivors as serious human rights violations by the Syrian government and said it has fully documented the event. The organization said it will continue monitoring and reporting on violations against civilians in North and East Syria by Syrian government forces.

The attack came amid an offensive on Kurds in northeastern Syria and Rojava by Syrian government forces and allied militias. In early January 2026, forces of Syria’s transitional government and allied militias launched a military offensive against predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo, including Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh, following the collapse of a ceasefire with Kurdish authorities. By mid-January, Syrian government forces advanced into broader Kurdish-administered areas of northeastern Syria, including territory that had been under Kurdish control for more than a decade, and under a subsequent ceasefire arrangement, Damascus assumed military and administrative control over towns such as Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor that had previously been held by Kurdish forces.

Kurdish leaders have warned that the offensive displaced large numbers of civilians and raised fears of demographic change and ethnic targeting in Kurdish-majority areas. Monitoring groups and Kurdish officials have accused Syrian government forces and allied armed groups of abuses and possible war crimes during the fighting, including the destruction of homes and businesses, the displacement of tens of thousands of residents, and reports of summary executions and mutilation of bodies.