By Tonya Becker

Amnesty accuses the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) which is the military wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) of raying entire villages controlled by the Kurdish Autonomous Administration. After interviewing dozens of Syrian civilians in villages scattered about the region, the report found that Kurdish fighters from the YPG - unable or unwilling to police an Arab population along its front lines and in its rear - have simply been clearing villages, or destroying those it comes across. Kurdish forces were accused by Amnesty global Tuesday of human rights abuses against Arabs and Turkmen in northern Syria. Of 225 buildings visible in June 2014, only 14 were still standing by June 2015. "The military hardware and weapons had been airdropped by the U.S.-led warplanes and choppers for the ISIL in the nearby areas of Beiji", a military source told Fars. "They pulled us out of our homes and began burning the home... they brought the bulldozers... They demolished home after home until the entire village was destroyed". Russian Federation claims its intervention is aimed at defeating IS, but the majority of its raids have targeted Western-friendly rebel groups, including those who have received USA support in the past. "Direct support to the Kurdish groups is politically sensitive, since it is common knowledge that whatever these militias call themselves - YPG, YPJ, PYD, and so on - they are in effect a Syrian branch of the PKK", says Aron Lund, editor of Syria in Crisis, a website published by the Carnegie Endowment for global Peace. "Given that these forces in general are democratic and secular forces that believe to a great degree in diversity, we hope that they will receive support" from the U.S.-led coalition, Nasir Haj Mansour, an official with the Kurdish defense ministry in YPG-held territory, told Reuters. "They told us we had to leave or they would tell the USA coalition that we were terrorists and their planes would hit us and our families", said one resident, Safwan. However, the YPG dismissed these allegations, stating that civilians were moved out of areas for their own protection. "It is critical that the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and all other states supporting the Autonomous Administration, or co-ordinating with it militarily, do not turn a blind eye to such abuses". "Certainly we take them seriously and we want to be able to make sure that they're true or whether they have any credibility", Toner said. Another witness account said that, in one situation, Kurdish forces had poured gasoline on a house and threatened to set it alight while inhabitants were still inside. "I will stay in my place", said Bassma. The report also included a response from a YPG spokesman, who, while acknowledging that a few civilians had been asked to vacate, said that it had been done to prevent additional casualties. Residents of the nearby villages of Al Ghbein and Hammam Al Turkman also reported that the YPG made similar threats to them. However, many residents said they were forced to leave even though their villages had not been the site of clashes, or were at a distance from the frontline and there was no danger from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) laid by IS. "They must take a public stand condemning forced displacement and unlawful demolitions and ensure their military assistance is not contributing to violations of worldwide humanitarian law". But Amnesty's Lama Fakih said the Kurds' treatment of civilians amounted to collective punishment.

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