Syrian opposition groups fight over stolen olive trees in Afrin
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – Two opposition groups have reportedly had a conflict during the two past days over logging operations of olive trees in the countryside of Syria’s Afrin.
The Hamza Division and Ahrar al-Sharqiya – both Turkish-backed armed opposition groups involved in the invasion and subsequent occupation of Afrin – disagreed over the sharing of the profit made from olive trees that were stolen and logged from the Rajo district in Afrin’s countryside, provided that they would be sold to the countryside of Aleppo.
Hamza Division militants sell each ton of firewood at 150,000 Syrian pounds (SYP) to traders in the district, to be transferred to Azaz, Bab, and then to Jarabulus, a special source told North Press.
Ahrar al-Sharqiya searches vehicles loaded with firewood that pass through its checkpoints, claiming the firewood and then giving a permit card to the drivers in order to sell the wood for the group’s own benefit.
The Human Rights Organization published a report in late November accusing the Sham Legion of cutting down more than 3,500 olive trees in Afrin.
Meanwhile, groups affiliated with the opposition in Afrin pick and log olive trees indiscriminately, damaging them and depriving the owners of benefiting from the trees in the coming seasons.
Afrin is the most important area in Syria for olive cultivation, as in 2017 there were more than 18,000,000 olive trees, including 16,000,000 in the fruiting stage, according to the numbers recorded by the Autonomous Administration in Afrin at the time.
The Turkish invasion of Afrin in March 2018 displaced more than 300,000 native residents and brought in thousands of the opposition groups’ families to settle in the displaced people’s homes and lands.