Staged graphic videos stir Arab-Kurdish tensions in Syria
By Omar Aziz*
How did we get here?
Between May and November 2019, a series of nine videos purportedly showing Arab civilians being executed, tortured or abused by Kurdish militants from the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) emerged online, triggering a heated debate and a whirlwind of claims and counterclaims regarding their authenticity. Footage was described as having been filmed in northern and eastern Syria, in areas under SDF control that are inhabited by sizeable Arab communities.
Videos were circulated on social media (Facebook, YouTube) and chat apps (Whatsapp). One clip was shared (and subsequently deleted) on what used to be one of the most popular Syrian opposition Facebook pages (6.7 million followers). Others were picked up by some of the main pro-Syrian opposition TV channels, such as the Qatari Al Jazeera and the Syrian Orient TV. Interestingly enough, some of these clips were also shared on pro-Syrian government social media accounts. Although to different extents, both the Turkey-backed Syrian opposition and Damascus oppose the Kurdish-led SDF.
Most of these videos were disseminated ahead of the Turkish Peace Spring offensive in northern Syria, which was launched in October 2019 and resulted in territorial losses for the SDF. Ankara supports militarily numerous Arab-majority opposition factions that are opposed to the Kurdish-led administration in northern Syria. The SDF also includes within its ranks a significant, yet minoritarian, number of Arab fighters.
While violations committed by the Kurdish-led SDF have been extensively documented by human rights watchers, what set the difference in these videos was their potential to trigger unprecedented Arab-Kurdish ethnic strife by placing an emphasis on the alleged targeting of Arab civilians, including women and children. Many shared this footage online and endorsed their authenticity. In doing so, they fuelled an exchange of accusations that exacted its toll on the already strained relationships between Kurds and Arabs in Syria.
Although forensic and ballistic experts differ in their views on these clips, a set of giveaways prompted us to conclude that at least four of these were staged to serve an anti-SDF political agenda. We do not have conclusive evidence to define as staged all the videos that were produced in this period of time but most of these clips bear similar features, possibly suggesting that they were part of the same propaganda effort.
Experts disagree
This investigation proved to be challenging because of the diverse array of views gathered from forensic pathologists and ballistic experts. After watching two videos — one purportedly showing the killing of two Arab draft dodgers who refused to be conscripted into an SDF-linked unit and a second one featuring the alleged execution of an Arab couple — forensic pathologist Robert Chapman is inclined to believe that “these are genuine homicides” and that “if they have been faked they are very convincing videos.” Dr. Chapman explains that “the immobile state of the bodies […] [after the execution] appear[s] genuine. It is not possible to see the gunshot wounds however there is apparent blood loss from the upper part of the body of one of the individuals.”
In the specific video Dr Chapman is referring to, the two victims are suspiciously dragged into a dark cell before being shot, so that the viewer is prevented from witnessing the actual execution and prompted to wonder whether blood was placed in the room ahead of the shooting. “It […] doesn’t make sense to shoot them [i.e. the victims] in a dark room and then drag them back out — that’s not normal for execution videos,” says forensic consultant and ballistic expert Khaldoun Kabbani.
Towards the end of the clip (1:47), one can notice a leg movement in one of the allegedly dead bodies, as the executioner pushes it aside. “I’m very cautious about the leg. […] I don’t think it’s likely to be an involuntary movement, but I wonder if it could just be the result of the way the man in camouflage moves the body. Overall I think my most reasonable position is that it could be real shooting — but of course, […] where, when, who is a different set of questions,” says forensic pathologist Stuart Hamilton.
Kabbani, the forensic consultant, dwells on the dialogue in the clips. In the first video that features the execution of two draft dodgers, the shooter is reprimanding the captives “rather than defending Turkey defend your country” which sounds like a slogan, according to Kabbani. In his view, there is also a similarity in dialogue between the one of the two boys and the couple: in the first one the executioner says “throw them outside” and in the second one “throw them in the bin”, in what appears to be “a scripted play by the same director”. From a ballistic point of view, Kabbani says evidence is inconclusive, but as an execution video expert, he believes the clips to be staged. Commenting on the same set of videos, Senior Lecturer in Forensic Science Robert Green agrees that “there is a mounting level of suspicion that this series of clips are simulations perhaps intended to alarm and disturb the viewer.”
In a third video purportedly showing an SDF militant beating and urinating on two men and a woman in open air, a bag of an undefined liquid seems to have been poured to simulate urination. At minute 0:06, the perpetrator seems to be hiding something near his belt, as we can notice a protuberance jutting from under his jacket. Then at 0:46 he is seen touching the same area near the belt, possibly to adjust the position of an unidentified object that was about to fall as a result of his abrupt movements. At 1:13 he proceeds to supposedly urinate on the victims in a few seconds, while turning his back to the cameraman, who has incited him to humiliate captives this way. As pointed out by Dr. Green, “it is hard to imagine how someone could loosen their clothing and spontaneously urinate within the space of around three seconds. Without any medical background I would be incredibly suspicious of this. […] One does appear to see some form of liquid being deposited although, […] this […] appears somewhat feign and perhaps ‘playing to the gallery’.”
“During the clip […],” continues Dr. Green, “there appeared to be around 27 kicks/slaps. Whilst these are not pleasant and without wishing to play any of this down, these do not appear to be overly brutal. Over my time I have experienced kicking and stamping incidents which have proved fatal or have caused very serious injuries. The assaults in this clip do not appear to fall into this category of assault.”
As for the type of arms used in the footage, weapons expert Chris Cobb-Smith believes them to be real automatic pistols in the first two videos, adding that “there is most definitely a sign of the impact of the bullet strike on the woman as the round is fired [in the second video, min. 1:57].” Cobb-Smith adds a caveat on similar automatic pistols being available in the film industry but says he “would doubt if they were available for this sort of media theatre”. But ballistic expert Khaldoun Kabbani argues that Syrian factions “have the capability of staging the scene […] by using film making specialists” and that the “noticeable amount of muzzle flash emerging from the pistol [in the second video]” supports “the theory that the ammo used is blank”. With regards to impact, this does not rule out the hypothesis of blank fire weapons being used as it is known that they could cause harm when discharging cartridges.
Suspicious edits
According to an in-depth analysis compiled by an audio forensic expert who wishes to remain anonymous, the sound of the gunshots was added in post-production in both videos. Considering “the short distance between the recording device and the gun itself, […] the sound produced by the gun is so loud that the microphone is normally not able to record it: The signal normally clips and the audio is heavily distorted for a short while — which did not happen in the file under analysis,” writes the audio forensic expert. His view is that “most likely they replaced those sections in post-production so that it was sounding as a ‘realistic’ gunshot from the movies.”
While there is an ongoing debate on whether live rounds are louder than blank ammunitions, the audio editing of footage that is supposed to have been leaked from an SDF prison further questions its authenticity. The first video also appears to have been cut towards the end [min. 1:44], while the alleged executioner is dragging the two bodies around.
Inconsistent military insignia
Military insignia are a recurrent “trademark” in these videos. While the possibility that factions would exhibit their badges while committing human rights violations should not be ruled out, whoever shot these clips seem to be particularly keen on highlighting the perpetrators’ allegiance to SDF. The problem is that in several cases these military insignia are not accurate.
The most striking example is the second video, in which the two torturers exhibit a jumble of symbols that are undoubtedly incompatible on the same uniform. These include logos from the Asayish (the Kurdish-led security forces in SDF-held territories), Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK, which is linked with the SDF) and the main military faction within the SDF, the People’s Protection Units (YPG). All of these symbols cannot coexist on the same uniform, it would be unprecedented and somehow similar to a police officer who exhibits insignia from an army division.
Other shared “trademarks”
Other features seem to suggest that the production team behind these videos is the same one. One of the alleged victims in the first video and another victim in the third clip feature really similar facial traits, according to Super-Recognisers International (SRI), a firm made up of investigators and experts in facial recognition. SRI expert Kelly Hearsey cautions that “the quality of the footage prevents me from being able to make a clear judgment” but says she would agree that, by looking at certain keyframes, “the subject in the red t-shirt […] and subsequently in the darker coloured top outside […] look very similar. I pay particular note to the hairline at the temple being an extremely close match, along with the thickness of the hair, the facial hair by the ear and the nose shape.”
In three different videos — the third video, this one where a Kurdish jailer is about to sexually abuse two Arab female prisoners, and another one in which two Arab prisoners are assaulted and forced to kneel down on a portrait of PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan — the name supposedly given to one of the Kurdish speakers is exactly the same: Shero.
Another recurrent trait seems to be the focus on violations reportedly committed against women, who are either executed or mistreated in six out of nine videos, with the possible aim of igniting retaliation in tribal societies.
Tribes dispute involvement of their members
In more than one case, the social media posts accompanying the videos indicate the alleged names of the victims or their tribal or family affiliation, often calling for tribal retaliation against SDF. Most of the tribal leaders and local sources we established contacts with deny the authenticity of these claims, saying they are unaware of the involvement of any of their relatives. Some even say they investigated these events and concluded that the claims were completely fabricated. Few sources affirm that the claims are accurate but they are unable to share the contacts of the alleged families of the victims or to communicate their real names.
In tribal areas such as northern and eastern Syria, the local Arab tribes did not organise a single protest against the violations purportedly shown in the clips.
In the first video, the names of the victims are given as Khaled Majed Jadaan from al-Hasakah countryside and Ahmad Hussein al-Nayef from al-Tabqa. No one known by these names has gone missing in these areas. An al-Nayef family member in al-Tabqa said the name is totally fictitious.
In the second video, the victims are said to be from the Agidat tribe. Sheykh Mahmoud Jibn Bou Zaid, an Agidat leader from the Boukara branch, says he investigated the issue in the wake of the clip’s circulation on social media. After liaising with the tribe’s dignitaries, he concluded that no Agidat member was involved in the alleged incident. Bou Zaid, who is based in Turkey, also emphasises that, while being thankful to the SDF for their contribution in the defeat of the Islamic State (IS), he rejects the human rights violations committed by the Kurdish-led forces in the region.
As for the third clip, supposedly shot in Manbij, a statement reportedly signed by the Damalkha tribe was circulated online shortly after the publication of the video, listing the names of the victims, who were said to be under age members of this tribe. The authors of this statement called for retaliation against the SDF. But the same document was dismissed shortly after his publication by multiple sources from the Damalkha tribe, saying that they had no idea of whom was behind it and that the names were completely fabricated. Sheikh Ayd al-Hussein, a Damalkha tribal leader, tells us that, after investigating the issue, he can confirm that the victims are not from the Damalkha, although he would not be able to comment on whether the video is authentic or not.
Geolocation suggests role of Turkey-backed rebels
A fourth video shows a family being searched at an SDF checkpoint, allegedly located in the proximity of the Al-Omar oil field in the eastern Deir al-Zour province. An SDF militiaman attempts to search the woman and this prompts the husband to react violently to what he perceives as harassment, and the whole family to be pummelled by armed men.
For the purpose of verifying the location of this checkpoint, we have been in touch with multiple local sources, who visited and filmed the real location of the checkpoint. It emerged that this is actually located at the Al-Wash intersection between the towns of Shdoud and Baroza, a territory north east of Aleppo which is under the control of Turkey-backed Syrian Arab rebels and has never been held by the SDF.
The footage we obtained shows clearly the flags wavering over the checkpoint, which belong to the Syrian opposition and, in particular, to the Sultan Murad Division, a militia known for his close ties with Turkey.
Following the circulation of the clip on social media, an unverified recording was also shared on chat apps, in which a man with local knowledge of the territory describes in details the site of the checkpoint, and accuses Sultan Murad of having staged the video with the purpose of blaming “the Kurds”. The geographical traits and the buildings displayed in the staged video also match with Google satellite imagery.
Coordinated propaganda effort?
We cannot conclude without any reasonable doubt that all nine videos are staged and that no one was harmed in their making. Based on the evidence gathered, we believe that four of them were staged and that the SDF had no role in the alleged violations. Because of the aforementioned similarities, it is also reasonable to consider the four clips to be connected with the remaining ones circulated in the same politically sensitive period of time.
*A pseudonym was used for security reasons. This investigation dates back to 2019–20 but editors decided not to publish it at that time. The author believes it is still worth having it out to document a pretty articulated disinformation effort and inspire further work on this subject.
Special thanks to Bahzad Hajj Hamo and the VeSyria (Ta2akkud) team, who contributed to this investigation.
