Opposition exhumes graves, archaeological sites in Syria’s Sere Kaniye
SERE KANIYE, Syria (North Press) – Armed men of a Turkey-backed Syrian opposition faction in the city of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain), northeast Syria, exhumed an archaeological hill using bulldozers and primitive methods, in search of artifacts.
“A few days ago and before the eyes of the Turkish army, members of the Hamza faction, began exhumations at the archaeological site of Tel al-Jahash, south of the city of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain),” local sources told North Press.
“The members of the faction expanded their exhumations work and dug graves of the Yezidis in the vicinity of the hill, believing that the Yezidis bury valuables with the dead,” the sources added.
Cities of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tel Abyad have been controlled by the Turkish forces and the affiliated opposition factions since late in 2019. As a result, hundreds of thousands of residents were displaced.
The cities of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain) and Tel Abyad have 60 archaeological sites, according to statistics of the Department of Antiquities in Hasakah.
In a previous statement to North Press, director of the Antiquities Department of the Autonomous Administration in Hasakah, Adnan Berri, said that the archaeological sites in the Sere Kaniye and Tel Abyad regions are “under threat”, after monitoring exhumations in the archaeological sites using heavy machinery amid stealing the antiquities and destroying acts.
In mid-2020, well-informed sources told North Press that the Turkish forces turned the archaeological site of Tel Halaf into a military point, and began the exhumation in it by Turkish experts. So far, many pottery and artifacts have been found, and they were taken to Turkey.