{"id":55398,"date":"2021-03-03T20:53:21","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T20:53:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/?p=55398"},"modified":"2021-03-03T20:53:22","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T20:53:22","slug":"afrins-displaced-shocked-by-syrian-opposition-visit-to-kurdistan-region-of-iraq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/npasyria.com\/en\/55398\/","title":{"rendered":"Afrin\u2019s displaced shocked by Syrian opposition visit to Kurdistan Region of Iraq"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) –<\/strong> <\/strong>The visit of the delegation of the Syrian opposition bloc known as the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq on Tuesday was a “shock” for the displaced from Syria\u2019s Afrin, who live in the city of Qamishli, after they themselves were displaced by the Syrian opposition.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The delegation, headed by Nasr al-Hariri, arrived in Erbil in the Kurdistan Region on Tuesday, on an official visit that will last for three days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, Hariri published a picture of him with Masoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and former president of the Kurdistan Region, on his Twitter account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mahmoud Chaqmaq, a writer living in Qamishli after his displacement from Afrin, said that “the scenes and pictures of the visit were shocking and painful,” considering it a “stab” for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added in an interview with North Press that \u201cI wish I saw Nasr al-Hariri and other Muslim Brotherhood [figures] and warlords before the international justice courts for the crimes they committed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, the Violations Documentation Center in North Syria (VDC-NSY) documented the kidnapping of 77 civilians from Afrin by the opposition groups in February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe see that the Kurdish House open its door wide to receive such criminal people,” Chaqmaq added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In September 2020, a report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry in Syria<\/a> concluded that the Syrian opposition groups had committed war crimes and looted heritage sites in Afrin, north Syria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He wondered if the visit adds something important to the intra-Kurdish talks, or is an attempt to stall them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few days ago, Hariri appeared in pictures from Afrin accompanied by leaders of opposition groups accused of war crimes, before heading to Erbil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Whenever we are optimistic about the steps of the intra- Kurdish talks, we are surprised and shocked by scenes, pictures and statements from both sides of the talks that try to undermine all the steps taken on the ground,” the displaced said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It is regrettable that the occupied Afrin, Sere Kaniye, and Tel Abyad turned from an issue into a bargaining card and the political bazar between the Kurdish parties,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018 and 2019, these areas were taken over by Turkish forces and armed opposition groups following two separate military operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muhammad Muhammad, an internally displaced person from Afrin who works in the auto parts exchange business in Qamishli, said that he never expected \u201csuch a person would trample the soil of Kurdistan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This was a shock to us because Hariri was present a while ago with the leaders of the groups that occupied Afrin, and traded in the blood of the people of Afrin,” he told North Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This was considered painful for them – when they find a criminal whose hands are stained with the blood of Afrin\u2019s residents and present with Kurdish parties,\u201d Muhammad added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Turkish invasion of Afrin in March 2018 led to the displacement of at least 300,000 native residents of Afrin from their homes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Muhammad urged the leadership of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq \u201cto see what is happening to Afrin, Sere Kaniye, and Tel Abyad, in terms of murder, theft and kidnapping.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He believes that it would have been better for the leadership of the Kurdistan Region to demand that Hariri hold accountable the opposition groups that are affiliated with him for their actions rather than receive him as they would receive a political delegation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reporting by Hogir Abdo<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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