ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A young graduate who was forced to work as a laborer north of Baghdad has been missing for a month, with his family lamenting that he was kidnapped and his captors are asking for a hefty ransom not to sell his organs.
Sufyan, 30, is the youngest son in his family. He is from Tarmiyah district, some 60 kilometers north of Baghdad. He sought to obtain a job in the public sector, but was forced to work as a laborer when his plans did not materialize, his mother told Rudaw on Wednesday.
His family has received phone calls from individuals who identify themselves as his captors. They have demanded $60,000 or else they will have his organs sold.
“We spent so much time and resources to raise him,” his mother said, with tears in her eyes.
“I ask God and the security forces to help me find the fate of my son,” she pleaded.
“The security agencies are weak,” Sufyan’s uncle Omar al-Mashhadani stated. “They have not been able to reach the source of the mobile number, and they have not identified the other location of the phone calls. Their measures are weak and they do not keep up with current technological developments.”
The tribesmen of Tarmiyah have gathered and demanded that Sufyan’s fate be revealed. Some have raised greater concern about the return of kidnappings and the lack of security in the area – a phenomenon they are familiar with.
Tarmiyah was especially vulnerable when Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists controlled swathes of Iraq from 2014 to 2017. The militants regularly extorted the population and used the area as a launchpad to attack the nearby capital, even years after their territorial defeat.
“Are we living in chaos and a jungle?” local activist Oras Hamad asked. “We are not protected now. We are all likely to be kidnapped. This is harassing people to leave their homeland, but this is the responsibility and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.”
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