Turkey-backed faction cuts down dozens of trees in Syria’s Afrin
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – A Turkey-backed armed faction in Afrin region, northwestern Syria, cut down on Tuesday dozens of forest trees and transported them to an area outside Afrin for sale.
Liwa 50 group of the al-Jabha al-Shamiya (Levant Front), a faction of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), cut down dozens of forest trees in the grove west of Mount Bafloun in the Sharran district, east of the city of Afrin.
According to exclusive sources, after cutting down the trees, militants of the faction transported them in medium-sized trucks to the city of Azaz to sell them there.
Arson continues to break out in the trees and forests of Afrin, along with ongoing illegal logging, without any local or Turkish efforts to stop these violations.
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.”