The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) arrested 20 people from the same family in the city of Raqqa, which is under its control, in a raid operation carried out at dawn on Monday.
Local networks from eastern Syria reported that the arrests affected members of the Tarn family, which is part of the Walda clan, including women.
The networks documented the names of the detainees — including Red Crescent relief activist Majid Ismail al-Tarn, and medical doctor Fawaz al-Tarn.
Media sources from Raqqa confirmed in statements to Alsouria Net that people have been arrested from the city of Raqqa and its surroundings.
The sources said that SDF members raided the homes of the family members, at dawn today, and arrested them immediately. Their fate remains unknown.
SDF has already carried out arrest operations in the city of Raqqa during the past months, which led to an exchange of accusations.
According to the sources, the charges against the members of the Tarn family are not clear yet.
There was no comment from SDF explaining the reasons for the arrests.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) announced last January that the SDF had detained 107 people, including women and children, over the span of a month.
In a report, SNHR indicated that SDF has carried out more arrests than the other parties to the Syrian conflict, and has targeted civilians who have close ties with individuals in the armed opposition.
SDF launched mass raids and arrests of many civilians under the pretext of fighting the cells of the Islamic State (ISIS). The report indicated that some of these campaigns were carried out with the support of helicopters of the international coalition forces.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
