Syria’s NE farmers fear bullets of Turkish border guards
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – Indiscriminate or direct Turkish bullets raise concern of the 65-year-old Hamid Hussein Oscan, resident of the village of Berknis in the town of Derbasiyah, north of Hasakah, northeastern Syria.
Oscan has a land of about 150 acres, a third of which is situated on Syrian-Turkish border.
The farmer remains alert when he plows, sows, waters and sprays his land, as well as during harvest time, as the Turkish border guards are directly facing him.
Oscan told North Press that farmers get worried about crops in summer before harvest time, as they may catch fire due to Turkish shelling.
Two years ago, fires broke out inside Turkish territory, and extended to the border villages of Arada and Khirbet Haji Ibrahim in Darbasiyah.
The fire extended to Berknis and Sherik, where residents could extinguish it then.
“Every year after harvesting season, lands catch fire that destroy straw completely,” according to Oscan.
Farmers try not to stay in their lands when it gets dark, because “Turkish border guards open fire, warning us to leave,” he said, “they directly shoot those who are late.”
“Till now, no farmer has been killed by the daily indiscriminate Turkish shelling,” he added.
Fears of residents and farmers of these areas have increased, especially after Turkey has escalated its threats to launch a military operation against areas held by Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
The AANES was first formed in 2014 in the Kurdish-majority regions of Afrin, Kobani and Jazira in northern Syria following the withdrawal of the government forces. Later, it was expanded to Manbij, Tabqa, Raqqa, Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor after the SDF defeated ISIS militarily there.
Erdogan has recently announced plans to carry out another major military cross-border incursion into northern Syria. Erdogan specified his targets in the two northern Syrian cities of Manbij and Tel Rifaat.
On July 1, Erdogan said that Ankara’s new military operation in northern Syria could begin at any moment.
Erdogan wants to get a green light or at least still a yellow light from Moscow because it has troops in Syria.
“I always say that we can start [the incursion] at any moment at night. We should not worry and rush, especially since we are working in the area,” Erdogan told reporters after returning from the NATO summit in Madrid.
A space of about 17.5 square kilometer that is affiliated with Derbasiyah is situated along the Turkish-Syrian border.
The 55-year-old Adnan Muhammad Jan al-Darwish, from the village of Salam Alayk, hired a 300-acre land, including an agricultural well in the village of Dahr al-Arab, near the Turkish border
Al-Darwish plants only winter crops, but he still fears direct and indiscriminate shooting by the Turkish border guards.
“When I cultivate my land, I remain in a state of anxiety till harvesting time, due to distrusting the unreliable Turkish soldiers,” al-Darwish added.
“These soldiers do not consider any international covenants or treaties that take into account civilians in hot areas as they put it,” according to the farmer.
Hussein Haji Hamdan, from the village of Arada, also experienced the same suffering like others.
Hamdan said in amazement, “It is a ceasefire zone according to agreements signed by Russia and Turkey in 2019.”
Under these agreements, Syrian government force entered the area and deployed soldiers to border posts from the town of Abu Rasin (Zirgan) in the west to the city of Qamishli in the east, Hamdan continued.
Following the Turkish incursion in October 2019, Turkey signed two ceasefire agreements, one with Russia and the other with the US stipulating ceasing all hostilities, launching joint patrols, and the withdrawal of the SDF 32 km away from the Turkish border.
The SDF did withdrew from the border areas according to the agreement, but Turkey continues targeting the area.
However, Turks do not care about all those Syrian flags that are raised over the posts, he added.
“The Turkish forces shell border areas whenever they want, destabilizing the entire area,” he added.