In search of more antiquities, Turkish forces cut 500 trees in Afrin

Afrin – North-Press Agency

Mohammad Ahmad

From the beginning of the Syrian crisis in March 2011, until this moment, everything on its land is taken by the forces of conflict, where the identity of geography has changed in parallel with changing the map of its population with the theft of history and monuments. Afrin, which is located in the far northwest of Syria is still suffering the effects of this change, which the population described as "systematic", in front of the sights of the international community, which is still continuing to favor the forces controlling the region showing its "satisfaction" on all these violations, according to the local residents of the affected areas.

The process of cutting down olive trees and forestry in Afrin area is going on by the Turkish military and its affiliated armed groups under the name of "Olive Branch".

North-Press reported that, Turkish forces and their affiliates are intentionally cutting more than 500 olive trees between the villages of Dalla and Routa of Jinderes and Mabata districts in Afrin, where the processes of searching for antiquities in the area of "Sere Qoja" is going on and the drilling and excavation operations are continuing with heavy machineries.  

According to local sources to North-Press, the Turkish military have drilled and cut trees in the village of Haj Hasna of Shiye district in Afrin in search for antiquities.

While Violations Documentation Center in Northern Syria (VDC-NSY) said in a report published last September that, since the Turkish military and the affiliated armed opposition groups taken control over the region of Afrin, about 30% of the trees in the area have been cut down.  

It is also noteworthy that, the number of sites affected by these illegal acts amounted to about 35 out of 92, according to VDC-NSY.

While the number has recently risen to more than 40 sites, including archaeological sites used as military points and training camps by the Turkish military and its armed groups, as in Jinderes Hill, Ein Dara Hill and Samaan Citadel.