ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Gruesome video and audio evidence has emerged documenting the massacre of a Kurdish family by forces reportedly loyal to Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa on January 18, the same day he announced a ceasefire agreement with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeast Syria (Rojava), and a day after the Syrian Arab Army and affiliated armed groups launched a large-scale offensive to seize the strategic city of Raqqa from the Kurdish-led forces.
Rudaw has obtained gory video evidence of the massacre, along with several audio messages recorded by a family member who was present during the attack in a village east of Raqqa city.
Mohammed Ismail Salih had gathered his 12-member family into his small pickup truck, heading toward the relative safety of Hasaka city in eastern Rojava, which remains under the control of the SDF.
The Kurdish-led forces serve as Rojava’s de facto military and have been a key ally of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria, playing a central role in the group’s defeat in 2019.
As Raqqa came under attack by government forces and allied armed groups, the road ahead was perilous. Despite this, Mohammed believed that remaining in the city as the onslaught was unfolding would put his family at even greater risk.
When the truck reached a junction near the village of Abu Khashab, 90 km north of Deir ez-Zor, the family was ordered to stop. It was around 5:30 pm local time, just after sunset, and a group of gunmen had set up an impromptu checkpoint.
That day, the SDF was withdrawing from the area, as tribal fighters long-allied with the Kurdish-led force had shifted their allegiance to the government. Videos from eastern Syria showed chaotic scenes of the SDF pulling back from the predominantly Arab province.
“Where are you from?” one of the gunmen, who appeared to be the commander, asked.
“Raqqa,” Mohammed responded. “Kurdish or Arab?” the gunman asked. “Kurds, but we don’t belong to any armed or political party,” Mohammed replied.
“Kill all the adults,” the commander shouted. The family tried to get out of the vehicle to plead for their lives. Mohammed was immediately shot in the head by one of the gunmen.
The attackers then dragged the mother, Sara Shahin Salih, sat her on the ground, and shot her in the back of the head.
The gunmen then opened fire on the rest of the family. Three of the children - Yousef, 20; Layla, 17; and Avin, 10 - were all killed, along with their brother-in-law and cousin, Mahmoud Ahmad Salih, 26.
The remaining of the 12 family members also tried to escape, but the gunmen opened fire on them as well. All were wounded, including Shirin Mohammed Salih. The 25-year-old, whose husband Mahmoud had been killed, became a witness to the massacre. In the chaos, she grabbed her phone and fired around ten short voice messages to Ismail, her brother-in-law and cousin.
“Dad is gone, Yousef is gone, Mahmoud is gone, and Mom is gone,” Shirin screamed. “I am calling [their names], but nobody is responding.”