Fires devour large swaths of forests in Syria’s Afrin
ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – Fires broke out on Friday in a forest surrounding Mabatli district, in the northern countryside of Afrin, northwest Syria. It is the second of its kind in less than a week.
A local source told North Press that the fire, broke out in forests near the village of Khaziyan, in Mabatli district, lasted for more than five hours and devoured more than 300 trees.
On May 16, fires broke out in vast swaths in a forest surrounding Sheikh al-Hadid district in the countryside of Afrin.
Afrin has been under the occupation of the Turkish forces and their affiliated Syrian opposition factions, also known as the Syrian National Army (SNA) since March 2018 following the so-called “Olive Branch” military operation to push away the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of protecting “Turkish national security.”
The operation caused the displacement of about 300,000 of the original inhabitants of the Kurds of Afrin who have been taking shelter in 42 villages and five camps in Aleppo northern countryside, locally known as Shahba region, since then.
After the occupation of Afrin, thousands of olive trees have been cut down by the SNA factions, according to press and human rights reports.