Turkey-backed armed opposition groups continue abuses and violations in Afrin

Turkey-backed Syrian armed opposition groups, continue to commit abuses and violations against the local people of the Syrian-Kurdish region of Afrin and its countryside, amid international accusations of those armed groups and Turkey of adopting “demographic change” policies.

In this context, al-Hamzat Division of the National Army (an umbrella of some armed opposition militias, mainly Islamist, supported by Turkey) which controls large areas of what it calls Olive Branch areas has uprooted more than 200 almond trees that belong to an old man in the village of Qara Gul in Bulbul district in northern  Afrin, who preferred not to reveal his identity for security reasons.

Furthermore, al-Hamzat Division uprooted more than 400 forest trees from Mount Hawar, adjacent to the same village.

Abuses have significantly increased since mid-August, including kidnappings, ransom, killings and armed robbery.

Moreover, the armed militants of al-Hamzat Division have destroyed a 300-year-old house in the village, which is owned by Muhammad Hannan.

In this regard, Ahmad Muhammad (a fake name for security reasons), a resident of the village, said in an audio testimony to North-Press that the armed opposition groups were destroying old houses, with the consent of the Turkish army, to search for antiquities.

Muhammad confirmed that those groups were uprooting trees to sell them in the markets as firewood, or charcoal after burning, in a way to increase their financial income, especially after the Turkish army had stopped the salaries of most of the groups’ militants who refused to participate in the battles in the southern Idlib countryside.

The United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission has stated in its latest report: “Human rights abuses by the Syrian National Army, such as kidnapping, torture, extortion and repeated assassinations, are continued in Afrin region”.