Afrin IDPs in Syria’s Aleppo northern countryside condemn Turkish threats
ALEPPO NORTHERN COUNTRYSIDE, Syria (North Press) – On Tuesday, IDPs of Afrin residing in Tel Rifaat town in the northern countryside of Aleppo, north Syria, condemned Turkish threats to invade the region.
“We were forced to reside in houses in the city of Tel Rifaat after we were forcibly displaced from our city, Afrin, fleeing Turkish invasion and shelling with the support of Syrian opposition factions affiliated with Turkey,” Hayat Ahmad, an IDP of Afrin residing in Tel Rifaat, told North Press.
“The international community, at the time, remained silence regarding the Turkish invasion, and now Turkish president is threatening us with another invasion on the areas to where we resorted, so where should we go?” Ahmad said.
“He is threatening to invade us in order to return residents of Tel Rifaat, and we are not against this, but we also want and we have the right to return to our towns, areas and homes,” she noted.
Two days ago, Turkish drones dropped leaflets warning civilians to stay away from military sites threatening to invade the area.
In 2018, as a result of a military operation by Turkey and the Syrian opposition factions affiliated with it against Afrin city, more than 300,000 people were forcibly displaced towards areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo, according to statistics by Human Rights Organization-Afrin.
The Syrian government accompanied by Russian forces have been running the city of Tel Rifaat, where posts of the two forces deploy in the city and on its outskirts, since 2018.
There are 3,750 IDP families of Afrin and 570 indigenous families of Tel Rifaat, according to the co-chair of Tel Rifaat Local Council, Muhammad Hannan.
“Russia and its forces are present in the district of Tel Rifaat and on its outskirts and the Syrian government forces are also here,” Hannan stressed.
“The Syrian government is supposed to protect this people against the mercenaries and the Turkish occupation,” he added.
In the same regard, residents of Tel Rifaat released a statement, on Monday, to the public opinion denouncing the ongoing Turkish threats and shelling that target the city in an almost daily basis and also they rejected any interference by Turkey in the Syrian issue.
They also demanded that “Turkish forces and the Turkish-backed faction to withdraw from the Syrian areas they are occupying under the pretext of protecting its national security.”
Additionally, the statement condemned, “the silence of international community, international and humanitarian organizations, the Syrian government regarding the violations committed by Turkey against sovereignty of Syrian territory and not taking firm positions.”