Turkey-backed rebels continue to commit crimes in the Syrian city of Afrin
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has documented new crimes committed by Turkish-backed factions in the Syrian city of Afrin, located in Aleppo province in the northwest of the country and near the border with the Eurasian nation.
On June 25, a pro-Turkish cell forced residents of the village of Yakhour, in the Maabatli district of Afrin county, to leave their homes, which they later made their headquarters, "without revealing the reasons or motives behind this action," the London-based organization has reported. The inhabitants were moved to makeshift camps on the outskirts of the village. One family was also forced to flee this week after being accused of "practicing and promoting witchcraft" and receiving death threats, kidnapping and rape.
Another crime reported by the SOHR is the theft of antiquities by the rebels. Reliable sources collected by the publication say that they "continue to dig and excavate on a hill in the eastern part of Kura village in Raju municipality with advanced machinery to search for antiquities. The state news agency SANA added that "they are using the equipment provided to them by the Turkish occupation forces" and that "the excavations are supervised and directed by the Turkish intelligence that controls the terrorists in the air. The aim is, according to the publication, to be able to sell the antiquities found as a source of funding for Turkish campaigns and ambitions in Syria and the wider Middle East region.
Already in April, the Afrin Activists Network reported that the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries had begun to excavate the archaeological hill located in the village of Arab Ushaghi in the Mapata district. The rebels cut down "dozens of cypress, oak and other trees surrounding the hill, in addition to uprooting olive trees that were over 50 years old. The hill, called Dreemiyeh, has been "vandalized and looted in the last year," according to Adar Press, and is registered with the Syrian Ministry of Culture for its significant archaeological value.
These activities are not new. The SOHR documented in March how "Ankara had given the green light" to members of the Syrian National Army - the Protestant militia - to "sell" the properties and even the homes of Syrian Kurds at "nominal prices" - between $3,000 and $5,000 - after forcing them to abandon everything and evacuate the Afrin area. Sources consulted by the organization then reported that the Kurds "were being intimidated by these factions as part of the systematic policy of Turkey and its delegated militias to force the remaining residents of Afrin to leave the area.
It should be recalled at this point that since 2018, the Kurdish canton of Afrin is under Turkish occupation, after being taken over by the Turkish Armed Forces and their allies from the Syrian Natioanl Army and other Islamist factions over the Kurdish People's Protection Units militias.