KOBANI, Syria (North Press) – Some meters from the border with Turkey Ahmad’s land is still not ploughed after reaping the seasonal harvest of wheat late in summer.
60-year-old Ahmad al-Haj Saeed, a resident of Kobani, north Syria, is concerned over not sowing his lands for the wintery season as the area recently has been under constant Turkish military escalation.
In Kobani, hundreds acres lie on the Syrian-Turkish border. They ought to be ploughed after weeks to be sown later.
However, the Turkish shelling and bullets fired by Turkish border guards have become a major concern for farmers, especially that their tractors, harvesters and even workmen are targeted.
In the village of Gultepe, east of Kobani, al-Haj Saeed says, “Anything approaches the border is fired on. Two days ago they fired on sheep for approaching the border.”
He added, “I do not know how I could plough my land, I cannot posture my sheep onto, it is left purely as if was harvested today.”
As he was irrigating his lands in the village of Goran east of Kobani, the Turkish border guards shot dead 27-year-old Ibrahim Osman Mohyaddin, on August 4.
The incident was followed by an intensive Turkish shelling on August 6, targeting most border villages in east and west of Kobani that resulted in the death of 14-year-old Abdo Muhammad Haji, and others, including a woman and a child, were injured.
Al-Haj Saeed owns some 25 acres of lands adjacent to the border, a part of which is sown with corn, “I do not know if I can reap it or not,” he wonders.
Days ago, the village underwent Turkish shelling that caused panic among residents.
One can notice the partially destroyed houses in Gultepe, they are abandoned, and others are scarred by large holes due to the Turkish shelling.
Despite risks, farmers east of Kobani irrigate their fields of seasonal crops which are considered the sole income for them.
In the same village, 60-year-old Omar Khalil expresses his fears over going to his land, “It is all up to their discretion to shoot or not.”
Khalil, who seems older than he actually is, has no other choice but to adventure to plough his lands, “We cannot go anywhere; we have no other choice but to remain here close to our sources of income.”
Human rights organizations in the Euphrates region (Kobani, Sirrin and their countryside) say 33 individuals (men, women, children and military personnel) have lost their lives in the Turkish shelling since January 2022.
While walking on his field about 250 meters from the border, Turkish border guards fired on Muhammad Sheikho, 55, in the village of Seftek in the countryside of Kobani, causing him to sustain injuries in the shoulder in September 2021.
In the village of al-Jern east of Kobani near the border, Fadel Haj Darwish, 50, roams his field which is sown with every summer species, he remains daunted by fear of the Turkish shelling.
Darwish, who was preoccupied with irrigating his crops, said that he does not feel stability, “we cannot do our jobs because of the repeated shelling.”
He prepares to plough his land with wintery crops two weeks ahead, “However, we fear to do that, Turkish shelling is expected at any time.”