SNA imposes royalties on cotton farmers in Syria’s Sere Kaniye
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – The Hamza Division and the Sultan Murad faction, affiliated with the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), imposed on Monday varying-value royalties on cotton farmers in Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), north of Hasakah Governorate, northeast Syria.
A source from the Agricultural Committee of the local council of Sere Kaniye told North Press that the Hamzat Division imposed royalties under the pretext of protection, amounting to eight percent of the total cotton crop. Meanwhile, the Sultan Murad faction demanded a ten percent royalty, with the threat of prohibiting the cotton harvest if the payment was not made.
The source added that the farmlands under the control of the SNA factions, as well as institutions and individuals affiliated with the interim government, were exempt from these royalty payments. Additionally, investment lands owned by certain Turkish and local organizations were also exempted. These exempted categories form for approximately 30 percent of the total agricultural land in the Sere Kaniye countryside, according to the source.
Previously, the Turkish-backed SNA imposed royalty payments on wheat and barley harvests, surpassing $20 per ton of wheat or barley. Trucks loaded with these crops, belonging to farmers in the Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyad countryside, north of Raqqa, who refused to pay the royalties, were seized.
Sere Kaniye has been under the occupation of the Turkish forces and has been controlled by the SNA factions since 2019 following the so-called “Peace Spring” military operation that aimed to push away the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) under the pretext of protecting the Turkish national security.