Afrin invasion represents ‘peak of international crimes’ – Abdi
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Commander in Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, said on Saturday that the Turkish invasion of Afrin region, in northern Aleppo, “represents the peak of international crimes committed against civilians.”
In a tweet published on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of Turkey’s invasion of Afrin, Abdi said that the “invasion was a Turkish colonization project and not an urgent event related to a specific phase in the Syrian crisis.”
In March 2018, Turkish forces and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) occupied The Kurdish-majority city of Afrin and its countryside following a Turkish military operation dubbed ‘Olive Branch’ to push out the People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of protecting its ‘national security’.
“The crimes of the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries against the people of Afrin region represents the worst phase in the region,” he added.
People across north Syria held marches and public events on Saturday demanding the exit of Turkey and its affiliated SNA factions from Afrin and the return of its original population.
“The sacrifices made by our forces and people in 58 days [of resistance in Afrin] represent the historical foundation for liberating occupied regions, particularly Afrin,” the SDF commander stated, noting that they would continue to exert pressure until the perpetrators are tried in “international courts”.