Three Kurdish girls kidnapped in Syria spark urgent appeals from families and activists demanding swift action. The abductions happened over the weekend near Deir Hafer, east of Aleppo.
The victims include German citizen Norman Jalal, her friend Fatima Salih, and 25-year-old Haifa Adil Taher. All three are originally from Kobane, a Kurdish-majority city in northern Syria.
Norman and Fatima were traveling from Tabqa to Aleppo on Saturday evening. Norman’s relative, Mustafa Adil, confirmed that they passed through Deir Hafer before contact was lost.
Armed groups control checkpoints along this route. According to Adil, the kidnappers stopped them before reaching Aleppo and took them away. Later, the captors contacted Norman’s family demanding ransom.
“They let her speak briefly,” Adil said. “Her voice sounded weak and scared. We don’t know how she’s being treated.”
The kidnappers did not name a price, leaving the family uncertain. “They said they’d call back, but we’ve heard nothing since,” he added.
Three Kurdish girls kidnapped in Syria spark urgent appeals to local and international bodies. Norman’s family contacted the German embassy in Damascus and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), but not the Syrian regime.
They feared contacting Damascus authorities could result in arrest. Meanwhile, Syrian officials claimed they would investigate the case, but provided no further details.
Haifa Adil Taher, the third abducted girl, was traveling to visit relatives in Aleppo’s Kurdish-majority Sheikh Maqsood district. Kurdish activist Ibrahim Shekho said Haifa disappeared near the same area.
Haifa’s family also reached out to the SDF, but no new information has surfaced. All three abductions happened hours apart, raising suspicions they were coordinated.
Meanwhile, the Deir Hafer area, contested by pro-regime and Kurdish forces, has recently seen increased tensions. Consequently, militias supported by Damascus now seek control over key supply routes in the region.
At the same time, rights monitors have raised serious alarms. According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), over 1,600 abductions occurred in Syria in 2025. Notably, nearly 300 of those took place in regime-controlled areas.
Furthermore, Rami Abdulrahman of SOHR emphasized that armed groups frequently abduct civilians to extract ransom or intimidate local populations. Therefore, he urged immediate international action and demanded transparent investigations.
Three Kurdish girls kidnapped in Syria spark urgent appeals, exposing the growing danger facing women in conflict zones and the urgent need for protection.
