SNA faction loots olives of 300 trees in Syria’s Afrin

AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – A faction of the Turkish-backed armed opposition, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA) looted the olive of about 300 olive trees in the countryside of Afrin in northwestern Syria, sources said on Thursday.

Local sources told North Press that militants of the Suqour al-Shamal faction looted the olive of 300 olive trees in the village of Gamrok over the past week.

The sources added that the thefts took place at several locations around the village, mostly at night, with the stolen olives being transported out of the area.

Thefts have increased as the olive harvest season approaches, particularly in villages where SNA factions prevent landowners from protecting their trees. The factions steal the olives at night and smuggle them through their checkpoints to sell.

According to the sources, the faction of Sultan Suleiman Shah Division (al-Amshat) looted olives from 110 trees near the town of Mabata, transporting the harvest out of the village through their checkpoint under the cover of darkness.

Additionally, militants of the Hamza Division stole olives from more than 40 trees near the village of Bablit in the southwest of Afrin, moving the stolen produce toward the city of Afrin, the sources said.

Afrin has been under the occupation of Turkey and control of the SNA factions since 2018 following a military operation dubbed “Olive Branch” against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of preserving Turkey’s national security.

The operation caused the displacement of about 300,000 of the original inhabitants of the Kurds of Afrin who have been taking shelter in 42 villages and five camps in Aleppo northern countryside, locally known as Shahba region, since then.

By Siwar Hamo