{"id":53360,"date":"2021-01-21T20:14:07","date_gmt":"2021-01-21T20:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?p=53360"},"modified":"2021-01-24T10:42:39","modified_gmt":"2021-01-24T10:42:39","slug":"from-heaven-to-hell-afrin-after-three-years-of-occupation-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53360\/","title":{"rendered":"From heaven to hell: Afrin after three years of occupation (2)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This is part two of a three-part series. Read part one here: <a href=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53302\/\">https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/<\/a><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53302\/\">53302<\/a><em><a href=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53302\/\">\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Constant Turkish threats against the green jewel of northern Syria became a reality at 4:00 PM local time on Saturday, January 20, 2018, when 72 warplanes flew over Afrin, bombing everything in their path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ground war began the next day, as 25,000 Turkish soldiers and more than 25,000 Turkish-backed militants poured into Afrin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What followed was around two months of fierce battles between Turkish forces and their affiliated armed opposition groups supported by armored vehicles, tanks, artillery, warplanes and drones. 5,000 fighters from the People\u2019s Protection Units (YPG) and 3,000 members of the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) took on the second largest army in NATO with their light and medium weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Regime \u201cintervention\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before and during the Turkish offensive, rumors circulated that the Autonomous Administration and the Syrian regime reached a Russian-sponsored deal that would involve the deployment of Syrian government forces in Afrin to curb the Turkish attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the reality on the ground was different, as less than 200 fighters belonging to pro-government militias entered the area, and nearly all were quickly wiped out by Turkish warplanes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The YPG had previously provided assistance to the Syrian army in a number of areas, such as the supply routes they opened for civilians and pro-Assad militias in Nubl and Zahra, as well as the role they played in the campaign waged by Assad and the Russians in the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both the YPG and the Autonomous Administration issued statements in which they called on the Syrian army to enter Afrin and face the Turkish army, while the regime released no statement or response to this appeal. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The regime did not provide any help for the YPG&#8217;s resistance against the Turkish incursion for one critical reason: Russia did not allow Assad to foil its plot. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Moscow&#8217;s plot<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Russians attempted to build relations with the Kurdish authority in Afrin, supporting the YPG with light weapons and equipment. Their presence in the region began on March 19<sup>th<\/sup>, 2017, when they established a military headquarters in Kafr Jannah village, east of Afrin city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Initially, the civilian population was optimistic. \u201cIn the beginning, everybody was happy \u2026 [they thought that] Russian presence in the area would stop the Turkish attacks, and even the possibility of Turkish attacks,\u201d former YPG fighter Ahmed (a pseudonym), who was present in Afrin during the invasion, told North Press. \u201cIt was like a guarantee of the safety of Afrin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From the beginning, however, Moscow\u2019s ulterior motives were clear. Ahmed described communications between Russian forces and the YPG more as organized blackmail than as negotiations, explaining that Russia would frequently threaten to unleash the Turkish military on Afrin when they did not get their way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou have to work with the Syrian government, you have to allow them into the area, you have to cooperate with them,\u201d Ahmed recalled the Russian attitude towards talks with the YPG. \u201cThey said, \u2018if you will not work with Syria, the road between Aleppo and Afrin will be cut.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the YPG did not agree to Russian terms, the Russians \u201cpacked all their stuff, put it in the car, and left the base,\u201d Ahmed said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey used to trust the Turks. They never trusted the YPG,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before the offensive began, Russian soldiers evacuated their headquarters at Kafr Jannah and withdrew to their bases in the Shahba region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an interview with North Press, the then-co-chair of the Afrin Region Hevi Mustafa said, &#8220;There was coordination room between us and the Russians, and they had a headquarters. They always promised not to let Turkey to attack us, but they suddenly withdrew and gave Turkish warplanes the green light.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mustafa pointed out that it became clear that there was a deal, as &#8220;things have gone according to Russian interests.&#8221; &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;In one of our meetings with them, they literally said, &#8216;We got things from the Turks that are worth ten times your Afrin&#8217;,&#8221; she noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>War rages on as the world watches<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While Turkey was bombing and attacking Afrin and uprooting its people, houses, and precious olive trees, Syrian government forces were invading Ghouta to secure the vicinity of Damascus as part of the Russian-backed \u201cFour Towns Agreement.\u201d This agreement stipulated that fighters of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), along with their families and weapons, would leave the towns of Zabadani and Madaya in Ghouta, and the towns of Kafrayya and Fou&#8217;a in Idlib, to settle in Afrin.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another YPG fighter present during the Afrin invasion, who goes by the code name Bagok, recalled when his unit was watching television in a house during the early stages of the invasion while multiple channels reported a ceasefire in Syria. \u201cDespite the ceasefire being brokered for \u2018all of Syria,\u2019 no one mentioned Afrin; it was all Eastern Ghouta,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While international media laser-focused on Ghouta, they neglected the massacres and violations committed by the Turkish military and the Turkish-backed opposition groups in Afrin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThese guys were like something like a skin-wearing blood cult from some post-apocalyptic world. They reveled in the deaths of our comrades and innocent civilians alike. They literally danced on the bodies of our fallen comrades,\u201d Bagok described. \u201cThey called up our commander and taunted him, sending photos of them with the bodies of our comrades, playing football with their severed limbs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During this period, the UN Security Council held several sessions to discuss the developments in Ghouta and the process of handing it to the Assad regime, and it became obvious to observers that Afrin and its inhabitants were merely a card to trade in return for Ghouta in the international power struggle in Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the war in full swing, Afrin\u2019s officials and activists appealed to the international community to stop the Turkish slaughter, but to no avail.&nbsp; &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;We contacted all parties concerned. We sent messages to humanitarian organizations. We sent delegations and received delegations, but there was a deal,&#8221; Hevi Mustafa stated. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eventually, after months of ferocious resistance against all the weapons and fighters Turkey could muster, the Kurdish-led forces were forced to make the heartbreaking choice to leave Afrin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>By Jiwan Shikaki and Lucas Chapman<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color has-background wp-block-heading\"><em><strong>This is part two of a three-part series.<br><\/strong><\/em>Read part one here: <a href=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53302\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53302\/<\/a><br>Read part three here: <a href=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53437\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53437<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three years ago, Turkey began its assault on #Rojava\u2019s #Afrin region. Follow North Press for our three-part report on the story of betrayal, invasion, and occupation, and see how Turkey turned Afrin from heaven to hell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":53361,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home","category-investigations"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>From heaven to hell: Afrin after three years of occupation (2) - North press agency<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Three years ago, Turkey began its assault on #Rojava\u2019s #Afrin region. Follow North Press for our three-part report on the story of betrayal, invasion, and occupation, and see how Turkey turned Afrin from heaven to hell.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53360\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From heaven to hell: Afrin after three years of occupation (2) - North press agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Three years ago, Turkey began its assault on #Rojava\u2019s #Afrin region. Follow North Press for our three-part report on the story of betrayal, invasion, and occupation, and see how Turkey turned Afrin from heaven to hell.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53360\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"North press agency\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NPA.SYR\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-21T20:14:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-24T10:42:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0635\u0648\u0631\u0629-\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0627\u062f\u0629-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"serbest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@NPA_English\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@NPA_English\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"serbest\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/53360\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/53360\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"serbest\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b81a7a936dc1901a0045bed26fe324b9\"},\"headline\":\"From heaven to hell: Afrin after three years of occupation (2)\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-21T20:14:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-24T10:42:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/53360\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1071,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/53360\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/\u0635\u0648\u0631\u0629-\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0627\u062f\u0629-2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"HOME\",\"INVESTIGATIONS\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/53360\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/53360\\\/\",\"name\":\"From heaven to hell: Afrin after three years of occupation (2) - North press agency\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/53360\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/53360\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/\u0635\u0648\u0631\u0629-\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0627\u062f\u0629-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-21T20:14:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-24T10:42:39+00:00\",\"description\":\"Three years ago, Turkey began its assault on #Rojava\u2019s #Afrin region. Follow North Press for our three-part report on the story of betrayal, invasion, and occupation, and see how Turkey turned Afrin from heaven to hell.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/53360\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/53360\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/53360\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/\u0635\u0648\u0631\u0629-\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0627\u062f\u0629-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/\u0635\u0648\u0631\u0629-\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0627\u062f\u0629-2.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/53360\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"From heaven to hell: Afrin after three years of occupation (2)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"North press agency\",\"description\":\"North press agency\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"North press agency\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/npasyria.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/npasyria.jpg\",\"width\":682,\"height\":388,\"caption\":\"North press agency\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/NPA.SYR\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/NPA_English\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/northpressagency\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCyGMim0bdq_6W-ryV9WI29A\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b81a7a936dc1901a0045bed26fe324b9\",\"name\":\"serbest\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9f8cb8026d3bb7ee1dab9edc4fc9ab7f73cf5f13c8ce66b0baf009a2e95025b7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9f8cb8026d3bb7ee1dab9edc4fc9ab7f73cf5f13c8ce66b0baf009a2e95025b7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9f8cb8026d3bb7ee1dab9edc4fc9ab7f73cf5f13c8ce66b0baf009a2e95025b7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"serbest\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/npasyria.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/serbest\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"From heaven to hell: Afrin after three years of occupation (2) - North press agency","description":"Three years ago, Turkey began its assault on #Rojava\u2019s #Afrin region. Follow North Press for our three-part report on the story of betrayal, invasion, and occupation, and see how Turkey turned Afrin from heaven to hell.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53360\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"From heaven to hell: Afrin after three years of occupation (2) - North press agency","og_description":"Three years ago, Turkey began its assault on #Rojava\u2019s #Afrin region. Follow North Press for our three-part report on the story of betrayal, invasion, and occupation, and see how Turkey turned Afrin from heaven to hell.","og_url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53360\/","og_site_name":"North press agency","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NPA.SYR\/","article_published_time":"2021-01-21T20:14:07+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-01-24T10:42:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0635\u0648\u0631\u0629-\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0627\u062f\u0629-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"serbest","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@NPA_English","twitter_site":"@NPA_English","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"serbest","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53360\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53360\/"},"author":{"name":"serbest","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b81a7a936dc1901a0045bed26fe324b9"},"headline":"From heaven to hell: Afrin after three years of occupation (2)","datePublished":"2021-01-21T20:14:07+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-24T10:42:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53360\/"},"wordCount":1071,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53360\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0635\u0648\u0631\u0629-\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0627\u062f\u0629-2.jpg","articleSection":["HOME","INVESTIGATIONS"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53360\/","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53360\/","name":"From heaven to hell: Afrin after three years of occupation (2) - North press agency","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53360\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53360\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0635\u0648\u0631\u0629-\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0627\u062f\u0629-2.jpg","datePublished":"2021-01-21T20:14:07+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-24T10:42:39+00:00","description":"Three years ago, Turkey began its assault on #Rojava\u2019s #Afrin region. Follow North Press for our three-part report on the story of betrayal, invasion, and occupation, and see how Turkey turned Afrin from heaven to hell.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53360\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53360\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53360\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0635\u0648\u0631\u0629-\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0627\u062f\u0629-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/\u0635\u0648\u0631\u0629-\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0627\u062f\u0629-2.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/53360\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"From heaven to hell: Afrin after three years of occupation (2)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/","name":"North press agency","description":"North press agency","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#organization","name":"North press agency","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/npasyria.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/npasyria.jpg","width":682,"height":388,"caption":"North press agency"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NPA.SYR\/","https:\/\/x.com\/NPA_English","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/northpressagency\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCyGMim0bdq_6W-ryV9WI29A"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/b81a7a936dc1901a0045bed26fe324b9","name":"serbest","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9f8cb8026d3bb7ee1dab9edc4fc9ab7f73cf5f13c8ce66b0baf009a2e95025b7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9f8cb8026d3bb7ee1dab9edc4fc9ab7f73cf5f13c8ce66b0baf009a2e95025b7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9f8cb8026d3bb7ee1dab9edc4fc9ab7f73cf5f13c8ce66b0baf009a2e95025b7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"serbest"},"url":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/author\/serbest\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53360"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53468,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53360\/revisions\/53468"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53361"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}