Reclaiming Afrin is our top priority, Mazloum Abdi
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Thursday, Mazloum Abdi, the Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), reiterated that the reclaim of Afrin region and the return of its residents will be one of their top priorities.
Abdi’s statements came in a post on his official Twitter account in the fourth anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Afrin region, north Syria.
“What happened to Afrin regarding the Turkish violations and forced displacement of its residents, took place before the eye the international actors without doing anything,” Abdi said.
January 20, 2018, marks the day when the Turkish forces, accompanied by the armed opposition factions, launched a ground and air offensive on Afrin, under the pretext of expelling the “terrorist” groups and protecting their national security.
The artillery and aerial bombardment at that time, which lasted for 58 days, killed 498 civilians and injured more than 696 others, including 303 children and 213 women, according to what was documented by human rights organizations and centers operating in northeast Syria and the northern countryside of Aleppo.
The Turkish invasion also led to the displacement of more than 300,000 civilians from the area, according to the statistics of the Autonomous Administration of Afrin, currently operating in the northern countryside of Aleppo.
Some of the IDPs were taken to the camps of al-Awda, Afrin, Barkhodan, Sardam and Shahba, while others were distributed among 42 villages and towns in the northern countryside of Aleppo.
While other families preferred to live in other Syrian cities and towns, especially those run by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. Some went abroad.