{"id":115678,"date":"2024-07-29T09:53:24","date_gmt":"2024-07-29T09:53:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?p=115678"},"modified":"2024-07-29T09:53:28","modified_gmt":"2024-07-29T09:53:28","slug":"sna-faction-sets-fire-to-forests-in-syrias-afrin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/115678\/","title":{"rendered":"SNA faction sets fire to forests in Syria’s Afrin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) \u2013 <\/strong>A faction of the Turkish-backed armed opposition, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), deliberately set fire to forests in Afrin region in northwestern Syria that has been ongoing for the past few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local residents told North Press on Monday that Sham Legion (Faylaq al-Sham) faction deliberately set fire to forests in the town of Rajo in the north of Afrin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On July 25, militants of Sham Legion started the fire in the woods near the village of Ali Biske.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents attempted to extinguish the flames but were unsuccessful due to the rough terrain and strong winds, which caused the fire to spread over large areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An eyewitness said the militants started burning the trees to collect the remnants and sell as charcoal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added there a place near where the fire broke out for gathering and selling charcoal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media users shared footage of the fires, showing no efforts being done by the Turkish-run local councils in the area to control the ongoing flames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the occupation of Afrin by Turkish forces and SNA factions in Operation “Olive Branch” in 2018, they have been logging<\/a> trees, and clearing vast lands, turning green spaces into barren lands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 21, 2023, a report<\/a> by PAX, a Dutch peace initiative, said that forest cover in parts of the Turkish-occupied region of Afrin may have decreased by about 57 percent since 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report highlighted deforestation across Syria\u2019s western regions may have decreased by 20-30 percent since 2011.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the course of a century, Syria\u2019s forests have gone from covering between 15 and 32 percent the country to merely 2.6 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Siwar Hamo<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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