SNA factions impose taxes on olive trees’ owners in Syria’s Afrin
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), imposed a tax of 20 Turkish Liras ($1) per olive tree, on the people of Afrin region, northwestern Syria, whether the tree is fruitful or not.
A source from the village of Marateh, north of the city of Afrin, told North Press that the Sultan Suleiman Shah faction, aka al-Amshat, affiliated with the SNA, imposed three dollar taxes per olive tree, whether fruitful or not, in the town of Sheikh Hadid (Shiye) and Mabata. The SNA factions also force people to issue papers from their economic offices.
On Aug. 17, the US Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted the al-Amshat faction and the Hamza Division, as well as the leader of al-Amshat Muhammad Hussein al-Jassem (Abu Amsha), his younger brother Walid, Hamza leader Saif Abu Bakr, for committing serious human rights abuses against those residing in Afrin region, particularly the Kurds.
A source within the Sham Legion (Faylaq al-Sham) faction, which is one of the largest factions in the SNA, told North Press on Tuesday, they began harvesting olives from more than 5,000 trees in the villages and towns of Jalameh, Iskan, and Tel Slor in the southern countryside of Afrin.
The source added that the factions argued this action was for the protection of the harvest. However, most of the trees and harvest is stolen by people residing in the camps located on the outskirts of Afrin and near the water canal stretching from the al-Mahmoudiyah neighborhood in Afrin to the town of Jindires.
Afrin areas have witnessed daily violations against the residents and their properties since its invasion in 2018 by Turkish forces and the SNA factions.