Raqqa tribes reject Turkey’s building of settlements in NE Syria
TABQA, Syria (North Press) – The tribal sheikhs and prominent figures in Tabqa in Raqqa, north Syria, said on Sunday that they will not accept the demographic change that Turkey is planning to carry out in northern Syria.
Nasser al-Qamar, the sheikh of al-Uqaydat tribe in Tabqa, told North Press that “the Turkish government’s decision to deport the refugees is an unfair decision against the Syrian people.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week that Turkey is building homes and public facilities in parts of Syria held by Turkish-backed forces to support the new plan of encouraging the voluntary returns of 1 million Syrian refugees in Turkey to the “safe areas” in northern Syria.
Sheiks and prominent figures in Tabqa denounced the Turkish decision to deport the refugees and build settlements on Syrian territory.
“All the communities of Syria, including sheikhs and dignitaries, will stand up to this unjust decision,” al-Qamar added.
“Syria is for all Syrians, and it will be a unified country that embraces all its sons, whether inside or in the countries of the diaspora,” he said.
The Sheikh called on the clergy, the Turkish leaders, wise men and the Turkish people to stand up to Erdogan and his tyrannical decisions.
“Today, we are facing a new and completely different attack by the Turkish occupation from the previous attacks we have been accustomed to in the areas of northeast Syria,” Jamal al-Nahitir, a prominent figure of al-Wahab tribe in al-Tabqa, told North Press.
“Building settlements for the Syrians in Syria is nothing but a new colonial method pursued by the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries,” he added.
“There are no terrorist groups in northeast Syria, as Erdogan claims. The terrorist factions came to northeast Syria through Turkey,” al-Nahitir added.