SNA factions continue seizing property in Syria’s Afrin – Advocacy group
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Continued and frequent patterns of property seizure belonging to the original people of the Kurdish-city of Afrin in northwestern Syria are one of the critical issues, an advocacy group said on Sunday.
Synergy/Hevdesti Association, a victims’ advocacy group operating in Northeast Syria, said in a fresh report that violations of housing, land and property by the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), are one of the critical issues in the Kurdish-majority region of Afrin.
The city of Afrin, with the 366 towns and villages, have been under the Turkish occupation and the control of the SNA factions since 2018 following a military operation dubbed “Olive Branch” that aimed at pushing away the Kurdish People’s Protection units (YPG) under the pretext of protecting the “Turkish national security.”
“So far, Afrin is rife with repeated and continuous patterns of property seizure belonging to Kurds civilians,” the Synergy said. “The seized properties are either occupied by fighters’ families, or are used as military headquarters or administrative institutions, or are granted to other Syrian displaced persons, often without compensation or the collection of monthly rents that would benefit the factions.”
The group added that the complaints filed by the original owners of the property to the local councils and institutions that are run by Turkey to re-acquire their properties “have never been fruitful.”
On Feb. 29, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report Turkey bears responsibility for the serious abuses and potential war crimes carried out by its forces and affiliated SNA factions in areas under its occupation in northern Syria.
The report documented “violations of housing, land, and property rights, including widespread looting and pillaging as well as property seizures and extortion, and the failure of attempted accountability measures to curb abuses or to provide restitution to victims.”
Based on analyzing the information it gathered, Synergy’s report indicated that the SNA militants and their families “believe it is their right to continue seizing and occupying the homes and properties of Kurdish residents of Afrin for their own benefit.”
The SNA militants sell the houses of Kurdish residents of Afrin at very low prices, especially those under construction, according to locals.
A previous report by North Press pointed out that the SNA militants sell the houses of the Kurdish residents of Afrin for prices ranging between $4000 and $15,000.
Moreover, those who buy the houses refuse to evacuate if the original owners do not pay the money they had paid when they first bought the houses, especially since local council in Afrin issues “official” possession documents for the buyers, according to residents in Afrin.