Turkish Ongoing Threats to Invade Sare Kaniyeh Will Lead to Economic War

Turkish ongoing threat and repeated targeting of Sare Kaniyeh/Ras Al-Ein city in northern Syria affects living conditions and economic situation of its people. 

Threats of invading areas in north-eastern Syria – Sare Kaniyeh/Ras Al-Ein among them – and repeating scenario of Afrin in north Aleppo by Turkish president Receb Tayyip Erdogan and other Turkish seniors has being repeated more than ten times. 

Facilities and buildings close to the border between Self-Administration areas and Turkish state and their employees have been targeted directly several times by Turkish army and that led to many people injured and lost their lives as a result.

Those violations have a great impact on living situation and economic activities in the city, this leads to the deterioration of real estate sector and stopping work in many facilities and economic projects. 

After defeating groups of Free Syrian Army in 2013 from the city and its countryside, people of the city began to recover economically, thousands of those who fled beside capitalists came to the city and started building tens of small and medium projects as malls, small factories, restaurants and shops. 

The number of industrial projects registered in the Chamber of Industry of Sare Kaniyeh/Ras Al-Ein reached 650 with three categories: first, second and third. 

Unprecedented Business 

As Faseeh Al-Ahmad, the director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Sare Kaniyeh/Ras Al-Ein pointed out to North Press, trade movement has expanded despite the blockade saying that: “The city has witnessed an unprecedented trade movement between 2015 till mid-2018 and signed tens of trade contracts.” 

“Trade grew because of the increase of business activity and because of the return of citizens from Europe and neighbor countries. Also, the safety of the area was the reason of attracting emigrants from other Syrian areas, those emigrants brought with them their money and started building various projects in the city.” Al-Ahmad said. 

But ongoing threats by Turkish state a year ago to invade the area led to the standstill of the economic situation and its decline, it also led to the decline of trade because of the decline of the demand for goods. As a result, many capitalists obliged to go out of the city taking their money away from “fire line” and war dangers, as Al-Ahmad said.   

The movement of buying and selling in the city also affected because the citizens never feel safety. 

Mohammed Fadilo, a dealer and clothes shop owner, said that he just filled his shop with one third of the amount of goods as he used to in the previous years. 

Fadilo justifies that because of the Turkish threats, saying that if Turkey carries out its threats, what will he do with his goods then? Another reason is that, so many people emigrated because of the threats. 

Fadilo shows that ongoing threats and military activities created an uncomfortable feeling with sellers and consumers and this had an effect on buying and selling movement.    

Taher Izzo a grocer, says that Turkish threats led to the standstill of buying and selling movement in the city comparing with the last three years.  

Turkish threats affected significantly on industrial and economic projects that increased between 2015 and 2018. Carrying out many projects had been stopped for a long time and their owner were obliged to move their projects to other areas in order to be away from wars and any Turkish attack against the area. 

Abo Ammar, owner of general trading company said to North Press: “From a year till now, we cannot complete preparing our factory because of feeling danger with Turkish threats because the factory is close to the Turkish border and we are afraid of what will happen to the amount of the money we put for building it.” 

During working, the vehicles were attacked many times by Turkish army that led them to stop completely because the drivers weren’t brave enough to get close to the factory. 

“We stopped working, we cannot move and do anything a year and half a year ago.” Ammar Abdo, grain factory owner, said. 

Mostafa Moslem, a brick factory owner on the road of Tel Halaf, Sare Kaniyeh/Ras Al-Ain, says that he has been making living by working in this factory for ten years, but now, his factory became a target to Turkish army a year and half a year ago, so he stopped working in the factory and obliged to stop the workers from going to the factory every now and then. 

“Ongoing threats and targeting civilian areas by Turkish army, let them to be afraid continually though they are just civilians working to keep their families and children living.” Moslem said. 

Bakir Awny, a truck driver told the story of Mohammed, his cousin, who was working as a transporter of building materials saying: “He was shot by a sniper while he was loading bricks to make the living of his children.”

 

Awny added that they never feel safe since the beginning of Turkish threats to invade the area, they fear that they might be targeted while transporting loads from factories close to the border. 

Besides, there were the owners of many projects close to the border refrained from appearing on the media because their factories and houses are open to the Turkish side. They believe that their appearing on the media and complaining will put them at risk and will lead Turkish army to target their factories and houses. 

Besides commercial and industrial facilities, Turkish threats affected real estate sectors, too. Real estate activities are connected to security and economic situations directly. 

“Turkish threats affected real estate sector in the city a lot, the activities of real estate market declined as the declining of the activities of building comparing with the situation between 2015 to mid-2018.” Mostafa Zaim, real estate dealer in Sare Kaniyeh/Ras Al-Ain city said. 

“Emigrants never invest their money in real estate markets in the city, because the city is open to a Turkish attach threat, so the prices decreased and real estate market lost about 50 % its value.” Zaim added.   

Besides building and factories, there were tens of hectares of lands left because they are close to the border between Self-Administration areas and Turkey. Their owner aren’t permitted to go into them and sow them because they were targeted by Turkish army, so the owners lost their lands and their current production of agricultural season.   

It seems that Turkish threats of invading a war against Syrian north-eastern areas exceeds military dimensions, psychological war and achieving political aims to hit any attempt to recover the economic situation that is already burdened by the consequences of ongoing war in the country 8 years ago. 

As the city of Sare Kaniyeh/Ras Al-Ain got rid of the consequences of the war and clashes between People’s Protection Units on one side and Free Syrian Army, Al-Nosra Forhead and Islamic State on the other, years moved during which the economic became active, trade flourished and building movement increased until Turkish state threatened to invade the city militarily as it did with Afrin, it had a great effect on the economic situation in the city and on the area in general.