A citizen of Afrin: How long will we live under unknown fate

SHARVIN MOSTAFA –GANDI ALO /AFRIN

The Turkish occupation army launched barbaric attacks on Afrin canton targeting everything and its warplanes destroyed civilians’ homes, who refused to displace and preferred to stay alongside with People and Women Protection Units (YPG-YPJ).

After 58-day resistance, Afrin residents were forced to displace from their homes and went to al-Shahba canton and during the journey of displacement under the heavy shelling by warplanes, artillery and tanks, large numbers of people were martyred due to the shelling of Turkey mercenaries which targeted the civilians directly.

The citizen Khdija Ali Khalil who is from Qarmitlak villlage in Shia district, she lost his father who had refused to displace from his village like thousands of civilians, he forced to leave the village heading towards to the center of the district and was wounded by a shell and his fate is still anonymous between a martyr and detained in the prisons of Turkish occupation’s mercenaries.

Under bombing, we got out of the village in darkness

Khdija narrated her story during displacement from the village and said: We were in our homes and work before launching Turkish occupation and its mercenaries attacks against us, after the shelling we had stayed in the basement for 5 days, the women and children had been demanded to leave from the village under darkness for our safety, we were not able to switch the lights on, we took car under the heavy shelling by Turkish occupation and its mercenaries, heading towards to Arab Hamshlaka village in Rajo area.

35 days under the heavy shelling and taking shelter in the caves

Khadija touched upon how she managed to live in the village under the bombing and added: We stayed in Arab Hamshlaka village for 35 days, we took shelter in the caves due to the heavy shelling and we were bringing with us the shovel fearing of the cave exit being closed from the shelling.

Her father preferred the resisting, refused to leave the village

After intensification of the shelling on the village Khadija said we were forced to go the center of Afrin city, after a journey of cold and hunger and she lived in homes without doors and windows and said: My father refused to leave his village like other civilians who preferred to stay in their homes, refusing the occupation and he always said: if death comes, I will die in my homeland.”

Her father was wounded and his fate is still unknown till the moment

After the Turkish occupation occupied Qarmitlak village, my father left the village and he was exposed to the shelling before arriving to the center of Shia district and his fate is still unknown, some said he was martyred but three months after the incident, a citizen from Afrin got out of prison and said he was arrested in a mercenary prison and spent two weeks together in a prison after we showed him my father's picture.

And the citizen said he did not know where he was, he was being arrested in Amra village in Shia and was eye-folded, but after he left prison he did not know where he was.

Khadija ended her speech saying: what is the guilt of civilians, what was the guilt of my innocent father who is at 63 year to live in the prison? He is the I lean on, I want him to be released”

(T/S)

ANHA