Angry protests in Syria’s Afrin lead to clashes, casualties
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – An individual was killed and two others were wounded on Friday night by bullets of Turkish-backed Military Police faction in the city of Afrin in north of Aleppo Governorate.
Residents took to streets, expressing their anger against the local council and the electricity company in Afrin after an increase in power price.
Protests were staged against the electricity company in different areas in north and east of Aleppo that are under the control of Turkish forces and the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, also known as Syrian National Army (SNA).
This came after the company raised the price of each kilowatt of power from 2.45 Turkish liras to 4.50.
A body of a young man, who succumbed to his injuries, was found inside the local council building in Jindires district in Afrin, a local source told North Press.
The source further explained that the protesters set the building on fire, and the Military Police responded by shooting them.
Afrin and the surrounding districts have been witnessing a state of alert and tension since early morning on Saturday, according to sources in the area.
Bullets of the Military Police also wounded two other individuals, one of them is an IDP from Deir ez-Zor and the other is a member of Jaysh al-Sharqiya, according to the source.
On March 22, the electricity company raised the price of each 100 KW of power for household consumption from 185 to 245 Turkish liras, and each kilowatt of the industrial power was raised from 3 to 3.20 Turkish liras.
In early January, cities and towns in east of Aleppo witnessed large-scale public protests against Turkey and its affiliated councils following a decision to raise the electricity price in these areas.
In 2018, the local council of Azaz authorized the private Turkish company, AK Energy, to provide the city of Azaz and its countryside with electricity by laying high-voltage cables through Bab al-Salama border crossing in the Sejo area, north of the city.
Afrin and the surrounding countryside have been under the control of Turkey and its affiliated SNA since 2018. They have been running cities and town in east of Aleppo including Azaz, al-Bab and Jarablus since 2012.