Turkish-backed SNA Cuts 100 Olive Trees in Syria’s Afrin
ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – Militants of the Sultan Suleiman Shah faction, a group within the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), cut down 100 olive trees in the countryside of Afrin, north of Aleppo, on Sunday.
A local source told North Press that the militants of the faction, also known as al-Amshat, cut down 100 olive trees belonging to Mustafa Ja’far, an elderly Kurdish man from the village of Kurzeleh, in Sherawa district, southeast of Afrin.
The militants brought the trees to Sheikh al-Hadid district. They will likely be sold as firewood in local markets, as well as in the Idlib region, which is under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front).
Since the beginning of 2023, Turkish-backed factions have cut down 1.114 trees in Afrin, according to the Monitoring and Documentation Department of North Press.
On Jan. 20, 2018, the Turkish forces and the SNA launched the so-called “Olive Branch” military operation to push away the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of protecting “Turkish national security.”
The operation caused the displacement of about 300.000 of the original inhabitants of the Kurds of Afrin who have been taking shelter in 42 villages and five camps in Aleppo northern countryside, locally known as Shahba region, since then.