HTS seizes wheat crops of residents in Idlib
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) seized on Saturday crops of wheat belonging to residents wanted by the HTS in the town of Maarrat Misrin in the northern countryside of Idlib, northwestern Syria.
An official source in the Ministry of Economy of the HTS’ Salvation Government said the Development Office of the HTS began harvesting wheat crops spanning 6,500 dunums in the town of Maarrat Misrin.
The source added that the seizure was done with no court decision or legal warrant and was carried out by force, knowing that there are agents who are responsible of the lands.
Those people were unable to file any complaints against the HTS fearing retaliatory actions.
The source told North Press that the total agricultural lands seized by the HTS in the countryside of Idlib and the western countryside of Aleppo amounted to more than 1,900 hectares.
The HTS controls half of Idlib and parts of Hama, Aleppo, and Latakia governorates in northwestern Syria.
Anti-HTS protests have erupted in various areas of Idlib and the countryside of Aleppo since late February sparked by the killing of a man under torture in the HTS prisons according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.