Opposition group destroys Kurdish poet’s tombstone in Syria’s Afrin
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – On Friday, members of the Turkish-backed Sham Legion destroyed a Kurdish poet’s tombstone in Kousa village cemetery in Afrin, because it contained writing in the Kurdish language.
A local source told North Press that the grave belongs to the Kurdish poet Aref Khalil Sheikho, a resident of Kousa village in Rajo district, north of Afrin.
Sheikho died in mid-2012 and was buried in the cemetery of his home village of Kousa.
Sheikho was called “Bave Guley” and he had a deep interest in studying mystical, religious and historical books. He also read several poetry collections by a number of poets of the past century, such as the poet Ahmed Khan and Malay Jaziri.
The Turkish-backed armed opposition groups have pursued a policy of obliterating the religious and cultural monuments in Afrin and its environs since they took over the area in March 2018.
On January 24, Turkey started the process of converting the ancient Nebi Houri shrine in Afrin into a mosque.
Turkey, through its affiliated opposition groups, continues to change the demographics of the region by converting Yezidi shrines into mosques and building new ones in the area, such as in the Basufan district in Afrin’s countryside, according to local reports and sources.