Opposition groups cut down 3,500 olive trees in Turkish-occupied city of Afrin
(North Press) – Human rights organizations accused on Friday, the Sham Legion, one of the Turkish-backed armed opposition groups, of cutting down 3,500 olive trees in Afrin during the last ten days.
On its Facebook account, the Human Rights Organization in Afrin said that members of the Sham Legion, who control the seven villages of Midanliyat of the Rajo district, cut down trees under the pretext of pruning them.
The organization added that the process of cutting down took place under the supervision of a leader known as Abu Akal, and it took place after seizing the crops belonging to displaced persons or citizens residing in the villages.
The organization pointed out that the olive trees belonging to the residents of the village of Khulolko of Bulbul district, were also cut down where Rijal al-Harb (Men of War) group takes over the village.
The organization documented the ownership of olive trees to Haydar Dadako with 200 trees, Muhammad Dadako 200, Sheikh Mousa Mella Na’asan 500, Tawfiq Horo 600, Muhammad Sheikh Qanbar 1,000, and Ahmad Sheikh Qanbar 1,000 trees.
Logging and cutting down trees are increasing in Afrin with the approach of winter, despite the opposition groups’ pledging to prevent that at risk of accountability.
Reports indicate that more than half a million trees have been cut down since March 2018. This is accompanied by warnings of the disappearance of a number of forests and the impact of this on the environmental reality in the region.
The Turkish invasion of Afrin in March 2018 led to the displacement of more than 300,000 indigenous people, and the settlement of thousands of families of the Syrian opposition groups in their homes and lands.
Afrin is one of the most important Syrian regions for olive growing, where the number of olive trees until the end of 2017 reached more than 18 million, 16 million of which were productive, according to the approved toll by Autonomous Administration in Afrin at the time.