SNA faction takes over 2 wheat trucks in north Raqqa
TEL ABYAD, Syria (North Press) – On Saturday, a faction of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) seized two trucks, loaded with wheat, belonging to farmers in the village of Hammam al-Turkman, north Raqqa, after accusing the owners of smuggling them to areas held by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES).
A local source told North Press that a group of the SNA’s Sultan Murad faction raided the farm of a man named Hammoud al-Assaf near the village of Hammam al-Turkman in Suluk countryside, north of Raqqa, in the morning of June 3.
They seized two trucks loaded with 70 tons of wheat, on charges of trying to smuggle them to the AANES-held areas in Raqqa, the source said.
The source added that the owner of the farm was arrested along with the drivers, pending investigation, at the faction’s headquarters in the town of Suluk.
The family of Hammoud al-Assaf confirmed that it is “a repeated scenario against farmers every year to plunder their livelihoods.”
The SNA’s al-Rahman Legion seized wheat land in early May, belonging to Abdul Karim al-Ajeel, on the outskirts of the village of Tel Halaf in the countryside of Sere Kaniye (Ras al-Ain). The man was arrested on charges of dealing with the AANES. He was later released after his clan pressured the faction to do so, but the land is still under the control of the latter.