Thousands of Afrin IDPs stranded in northern Syria, besieged by SNA
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Afrin Social Association, a civil society NGO operating in the city of Qamishli in Northeast Syria, said on Monday that thousands of Afrin displaced residents are trapped due to the blockade imposed by the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), in Aleppo.
The association raised alarms over an impending humanitarian catastrophe after the closure of a vital humanitarian corridor left thousands of displaced people stranded on the road to Aleppo, exposed to freezing temperatures and dire conditions.
This came after the SNA factions announced the full control of Shhba region, an area of 45 villages where the Kurds of Afrin took shelter after they were displace from their hometown – Afrin – in 2018 following the Turkish “Olive Branch Operation.”
Ibrahim Haftaro, an official of the Afrin Social Association, told North Press that thousands of displaced residents are trapped due to the blockade imposed by the SNA, warning of a worsening crisis, as these individuals face life-threatening cold and limited access to basic necessities.
“This marks yet another tragedy for Afrin’s people,” Haftaro said. “Having already been displaced from their homes and villages, they now endure a second displacement under even harsher circumstances.”
According to Haftaro, approximately 200,000 displaced people from Afrin have been living in camps and villages in the northern countryside of Aleppo (locally known as Shahba region) since Turkey, along with SNA factions, took control of Afrin in 2018.