Turkish violations continue in Syria’s Afrin
ALEPPO NORTHERN COUNTYSID, Syria (North Press) – The areas under the control of Turkey and the affiliated opposition factions in the northern countryside of Aleppo have witnessed this week a continuation of a series of violations, in light of in light of the state of security chaos in the region, and the infighting among the opposition factions.
On Wednesday, local websites circulated news of violent clashes erupting between al-Majd faction and al-Hamzat Division in Bulbul district in the Afrin countryside, in which one person was killed and one was wounded on both sides.
In a related context, seven members of the Levant Front, including a leader, were killed on Wednesday in an attack by unidentified gunmen on one of their checkpoints in the Sujo area north of Aleppo on the Turkish border, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Furthermore, five members of the Turkish-backed Sham Legion faction were seriously wounded as a result of violent clashes between two groups of the faction in the town of Maidanki in the countryside of Afrin,” a special source told North Press.
“Violent clashes took place and all kinds of machine guns and mortars were used, and several shells fell on residents’ homes, while the cause of the infighting is still unknown,” a special source told North Press.
Also, a member of the Ahrar al-Sharqiya faction was wounded in clashes with the Division 51, in the center of Afrin city on Sunday, according to the observatory.
With the aim of obtaining a ransom, the first week of April witnessed the continuation of the arrests of residents.
The Turkish-backed Military Police faction arrested Hassan Muhammad Ammari (45 years old) and Sabri Yousef Julak (70 years old) from Mamala village in the countryside of Rajo district. They were taken to the military police headquarters in the district and demanded their families pay a ransom for their release without knowing the reason for the arrest, according to local sources.
In addition, the Turkish intelligence members arrested Muhammad Mannan Fa’iq, a resident of the village of Miska in the countryside of Jindires district, without knowing the reasons.
On April 2, members of a patrol belonging to the Military Police faction arrested a resident of the village of Khaltan in the Jindires district of Afrin countryside and took him to the district center.
The same faction also arrested three other people from Deir Sawan village in the countryside of Sharan district in Afrin countryside, accusing them of working in the institutions of the former Autonomous Administration, according to the Human Rights Organization Afrin-Syria.
In A statement, the Free Bar Association condemned the arbitrary arrest of the lawyer Farouk Mahmoud al-Muhaimid and his father, lawyer Mahmoud by the pro-Turkey Military Police faction, and demanded the immediate release of the detainees.
Afrin witnessed in March 88 arrests and kidnappings, including 12 women, a minor and two children, by pro-Turkish opposition factions. However, and 17 of them were released after paying sums of money to the factions’ members.
In addition to the ongoing killings and kidnappings in areas controlled by Turkey and opposition factions, demographic change continues through the destruction of the region’s cultural heritage for two goals; the first of which is the looting of antiquities and the second is the destruction of the region’s cultural heritage.
“Since the occupation of Afrin in March 2018, the Turkish forces and the opposition factions have destroyed and looted 69 archaeological sites, in addition to the destruction of 31 shrines belonging to different religions and sects, ” the Directorate of Antiquities in Afrin told North Press.
The antiquities were stolen from all sites and sold on the black market after being smuggled through Turkey to Europe, according to the directorate.
Ancient classic burials that were recently found were exposed as a result of cutting down trees in the village of Miska al-Foqani in the countryside of Jindires, and the funeral furniture accompanying the skeletons that were buried within the cemetery were also stolen.
The encroachment and sabotage operations also included Habshko and Kashur hills in Rajo district, according to the directorate.