They pledge to continue struggle in al-Shahba after suffering amid occupation

JAFAR JAFO – AREF SULAIMAN / AL-SHAHBA

The Turkish aggression army and its mercenaries occupied Afrin canton after bombing and carrying out the most violent attacks on the people of the area. As a result of the sudden siege on some villages, many families could not leave. These families are still being harassed by the occupation army and its mercenaries.

Uncle Aref Rashid's family from the village of Shaikh Bilal of Rajo district is one of the families who suffered from the siege, could not get out of the canton, and witnessed the Turkish violations.

Uncle Aref and his family arrived to al-Shahba canton after a long time of suffering. They talked to ANHA agency about the horrors they had suffered from during their stay in Afrin.

Aref Rashid who is 71 years old said, "The day of the occupation of Afrin, we were trapped in the village. Two days after its occupation, the Turkish mercenaries came to our house and asked strange questions about us; 'Where have your children gone? Why did they leave the village?" I replied that my children had gone with the intensifying of the shelling and that I did not know anything about them."

After a period of occupation, uncle Aref witnessed the injustice committed by the Turkish aggression against them by looting the property of the villagers and the immoral and inhuman practices against the people of Afrin.

According to Aref, he was arrested by the mercenaries on charges of dealing with the People Protection Units (YPG). During his stay in the village, he has been unable to go to his farmland as a result of the mercenaries' threats, as uncle Aref has about 1,000 olive trees.

The mercenaries also arrested a child of Aref on charges of dealing with the People Protection Units and he paid $ 150 to them to release him. The situation continued as his son has been arrested several times on false charges for paying ransoms.

Uncle Aref says that the mercenaries also stole his electricity generator and other household equipment and olive oil in front of their eyes, but they could not do anything in order to save their own lives.

As a result of these inhumane practices, the journey of uncle Aref and his family began to get out from his village and from Afrin. He has headed first to the city of Afrin, he paid 55,000 SP and left Afrin to Manbij and then to Kobani and Qamishlo to Damascus via a travel plane costing 20,000. And from Damascus to Aleppo he paid 100,000, from there he reached to ​​Tel Rifat in al-Shahba.

Despite the suffering and the great costs, uncle Aref is happy to reach his family where he feels safe.

Suad Habash, the wife of Aref Rashid, at 50, confirmed that the mercenaries were always assaulting them with the aim of forcing them to leave their home. "They always used to come to us after hours of the night and accuse us of spying on the mercenaries and sending information to the People Protection Units," she said.

The mother recalled one of those attacks when the mercenaries came to their house at night carrying swords and their hands stained with blood, threatening to kill them, and asking them about the number of units in the prayer. They also attacked her elderly husband.

The family today affirms that they will remain steadfast with the people of Afrin in al-Shahba and will liberate Afrin from Turkish defilement whatever it would cost them."

H/S

ANHA