North-Press Agency
Roj Mousa
Muhammad Ali has never been able to move freely in the vicinity of his village, Burj al-Qas, southern Afrin, for fears of being subject to kidnapping, after his village has become on the front line between the Iranian-affiliated forces, the Russian forces and the Syrian government forces on one hand, and the Turkish army and its affiliated armed opposition groups on the other hand, since the control of the Turkish forces over the areas adjacent to the village in Afrin two years ago.
Muhammad, who is a father of 9 children, said that he fears to go to the nearby villages because one of his neighbors was kidnapped and his family was forced to pay a ransom of $300 for his release, as he is one of the residents of 4 villages, which have been in the range of the Turkish artillery and the blockade of the Syrian government affiliated armed groups in the two towns of Nubl and Zahraa from the east, for 8 years.
The village of Burj al-Qas is adjacent to the villages of Zuq al-Kabir, KalutaKalota and Bachmra, where it can be said that, they are located in the "strategic triangle,” overlooking the areas controlled by the Iranian and the Syrian government forces in Nubl and Zahraa from the east, and areas under the control of the Turkish-backed armed opposition groups in Darat Izza from the west.
Blockade and shelling
After the deployment of the Syrian government forces, the above-mentioned four villages, with other adjacent ones have become a direct Russian-Iranian sphere of influence, due to their closeness to the contact lines with the armed opposition groups in both Azaz and Afrin.
Residents of the four villages (Burj al-Qas, Zuq al-Kabir, Kalota and Bachmra) suffer an undeclared blockade imposed by Russia and Iran, which is carried out by the Iranian-backed forces which are positioned in the Shiite-majority towns of Nubl and Zahraa.
Despite they are populous villages by the indigenous and Afrin’s IDPs, these four villages are subjected to a daily Turkish shelling and its affiliated groups which are positioned in the villages and towns of Burj Haydar, Barad, Fafartin, al-Tamoura and Qubtan al-Jabal, to the west and south of the four villages.
Strategic villages
These four villages are located in the middle of 25 archaeological sites, which date back to the Roman and Byzantine eras.
More than 880 families live in these villages, including 159 displaced families from Afrin, according to the council villages councils. councils of these villages.
These villages are characterized by their dry and rocky mountainous nature, which are full of natural caves and rich in the wildlife, in addition to being a destination for the pilgrims visiting the shrine of Mar Maroun, the patron saint of Maronites, in Barad village near Burj al-Qas.
Recidivism
With the start of the Syrian war eight years ago, these villages, as most of the Kurdish villages in Afrin, became under the control of the People's Protection Units (YPG).
Because of the help provided by these four villages to the towns of Nubl and Zahraa, where the armed opposition groups wanted to besiege them, this stance led the four villages to be targeted by the armed opposition groups every now and then. At the same time, the relations between the YPG and the Syrian government forces were in crisis, following the entry of the opposition groups to Sheikh Maqsoud and al-Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods in Aleppo in March, 2013.
After the Syrian government forces broke the blockade on February 3, 2016, the people of the two towns of Nubl and Zahraa began imposing hinders for the people of Afrin, as they arrested dozens of Kurdish Afrini people, in a scenario similar to what were the armed opposition groups doing.
The heart of the Triangle
In mid-2013, the YPG was able to regain Bachmra village from the armed opposition groups after fierce battles.
A video of targeting a vehicle of the Syrian government forces by the opposition groups:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMBzaTxBnxM
After meetings between some Turkish officers and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) members, attacks on Bachmra increased in March 
2018,
But the village stayed under YPG's control until March 2018, to be deployed by the Syrian government, the Russian and the Iranian forces after that.
The deployment of the Syrian government and other affiliated forces in the nearby villages of Bachmra came in the context of the Russian Turkish understanding to draw new lines for their areas of influence in northern Syria.
Deteriorating situation
With the prevention of going to their lands and harvesting their crops, the suffering of the residents of the four villages increased, as the lands are located in the areas between the Syrian government forces and the Turkish forces, in addition to planting mines near the military posts of the Turkish or the Syrian forces.
The Turkish-affiliated armed groups have cut 1,200 olive trees of the people of Burj al-Qas, in addition to the damage of 60% of the trees due to the fires set by these groups in July 2019.
On the hand, the Iranian-affiliated forces in both Nubl and Zahraa prevent the people of the four villages from getting benefit of the markets and bazars of the two towns, or even to pass through the two towns to reach the towns of Tal Rifaat and Deir Jamal.
With the rise of the dollar, the prices of the basic needs and food increased, as well as armed robbery operations on the road. While the medical post which was opened in Burj al-Qas, couldn't treat all the medical situations, forcing the people to head into the hospitals in Nubl and Zahraa, where they face difficulties.