Organizations continue building new settlement in Afrin
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – Organizations are continuing, in coordination with Turkish authorities, the construction of a new settlement in the Sharran District in the countryside of Afrin, north of Aleppo.
Afrin has been under the occupation of Turkey and its affiliated factions of the Syrian National Army (SNA) since 2018 following a military operation dubbed “Olive Branch” against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of preserving Turkey’s national security.
Since then, Turkey has implemented a policy of demographic change. SNA factions have continuously harassed original Kurdish inhabitants to push them to leave. Turkey’s policy of demographic change has resulted in the displacement of 90 percent of the region’s original residents, who have been replaced by Syrians from different regions.
The correspondent of North Press reported that a settlement called Abayer is being built on a wooded land near the village of Qartiqalaq in Sharran. All the trees in the wood were cut down by the SNA’s Sultan Murad faction, under the supervision of a leader called Araba Idris.
The source indicated that the majority of the housing units would be allocated to the family members of the fighters belonging to the Sultan Murad faction.
According to recent findings by North Press, the number of settlements built by Saudi, Kuwaiti, Palestinian, and Qatari organizations in Afrin is about 36 villages. These settlements are located in the areas of Sharran, Sheikh-Hadid, Jindires, Bulbul, and Rajo near the city of Afrin.