Turkish-backed SNA cuts 200 olive trees in Syria’s Afrin
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – Militants of the Turkish-backed Sultan Suleiman Shah faction, known as “al-Amshat” cut down about 200 olive trees in the countryside of Afrin, northwest Syria.
An eyewitness told North Press the chopped trees belong to Muhammad Sido, an original inhabitant of Afrin. The process took place in Amoura plain in the Mabatli district north of Afrin.
The eyewitness added that militants of the faction chopped the trees using power chainsaw and they transformed them to their headquarters to sell them later on markets.
Since early 2023, the SNA factions have cut down 1.014 trees in Afrin, according to North Press Monitoring and Documentation Department.
On Jan. 8, Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, also known as Syrian National Army (SNA), cut down 87 olive trees belong to residents of Afrin region.
On Jan. 14, the Muhammad al-Fateh faction cut down 15 olive trees for a resident of the village of sheikh in Afrin countryside.
In January 2018, the Turkish forces and their SNA factions launched Olive Branch military operation to push away the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of protecting the “Turkish national security”.
The operation resulted in the occupation of the Kurdish city of Afrin along with its countryside and the displacement of more than 300.000 of the original people.
After the occupation of Afrin thousands of olive trees have been cut down by Turkish-backed Syrian opposition factions, according to press and human rights reports.