SNA faction imposes royalties on olive oil presses in Syria’s Afrin
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – An owner of an olive oil press in Afrin, northwestern Syria, said on Tuesday that a faction of the Turkish-backed armed opposition, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), is forcing owners of presses to pay royalties as the olive picking season comes to an end.
The owner of the press told North Press that the Hamzat Division imposes on press owners to provide 20 cans of olive oil (each contains 16 kg of oil) for the benefit of its security headquarters.
The faction has imposed this levy in the villages of Kafr Dali Foqani, Kafr Dali Tahtani, Tel Ghazi, Faqiran, and Jolaqa, as well as Marateh, Kafr Shil and Bablit.
He noted that he was forced to pay the levy, saying, “I could not refuse. They would take the oil by force, not to mention the harassment they would create later.”
At the beginning of this month, the Turkish-backed Sultan Suleiman Shah faction, locally known as al-Amshat seized an olive oil press and agricultural land belonging to a resident in the town of Jindires in the west of Afrin.