Organization condemns stealing olive in Syria’s Afrin by armed factions
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – In a statement issued yesterday on Sunday, the National Initiative for Afrin condemned the Turkish-backed opposition factions for threatening the residents, who refuse to give them the olive crop, of killing.
The statement said that the so-called “local councils” established by Turkey “have not yet issued any circulars regarding the olive crop, unlike in previous years.”
“In the past years, these councils used to set the dates of harvest and the amounts of royalties imposed on farmers, to allow them to pick their olive crops,” it added.
According to the statement, the absence of circulars “motivated the Turkish occupation militias, namely the Syrian National Army, to issue circulars of their own that serve the interest of the militia leaders who control the villages.”
The statement pointed out that these factions had harvested crops in the villages of Bulbul district, north of Afrin, at an early date, despite the immaturity of the fruits. They then opened a special olive press in the village of Aboudan, “which prompted the residents to hasten to harvest their crops before the factions seize them.”
The statement called on official and civil international organizations concerned with human rights to “immediately intervene” and put pressure on Turkey to stop these violations, which contrast with all covenants and charters approved by the United Nations.
“The continued international silence regarding these violations encourages Turkey and these factions to persist in their terrorist practices against our people in Afrin.”
The National Initiative for Afrin in Germany in August 22 under the slogan “Together for Afrin.”
This initiative aims to expose Turkey’s violations against residents of Syria’s Afrin to international institutions and human rights organizations participating in the initiative.
The city of Afrin and its villages, north of Aleppo, have been controlled by Turkish forces and the affiliated factions since March 2018.
The Afrin region has been witnessing cases of killing, kidnapping and arrest, in addition to frequent bombings, amid the inability of the factions controlling it to settle the security in the region.