Turkish-backed factions impose taxes on farmers in Syria’s Afrin
ALEPPO NORTHERN COUNTRYSIDE, Syria (North Press) – On Tuesday, the Turkish-backed Faylaq al-Sham faction imposed taxes on the whole citizens of a village in Bulbul district, north of Afrin, north Syria, on the pretext of providing protection to farmers and prohibiting looting during the olive harvesting time.
The tax was to give 150 olive oil tins (each tin weighs 16 kg) to the faction, according to a local sources.
In addition, the faction confiscated 20% of the olive oil crops from each single farmer.
Turkish-backed armed factions keep up imposing taxes on farmers and owners of olive oil presses in Afrin and its vicinity.
In August 2018, Amnesty International released a report saying, “Afrin residents are enduring widespread human rights violations, mostly at the hands of Syrian armed groups equipped and armed by Turkey.”
The city of Afrin and its villages, north Syria, have been controlled by Turkish forces and the affiliated factions since March 2018.
At that time, the Turkish operation caused the displacement of more than 300,000 people, according to a report published by the Human Rights Organization-Afrin in January 2020.