​​​​​​​Eyewitness telling about horrors of Turkish occupation army and mercenaries in Afrin

Amina Suleiman, 45, member of  Kongra Star Coordination for Afrin canton since 2012,  she took part in Afrin Resistance against Turkish occupation and mercenaries, and made every effort to protect civilians and secure their livelihoods.

As an eyewitness on the events of 58-day Afrin resistance, Amina tells Hawar news agency her observations: "We were living in peace and security in Afrin until 20 January 2018, when the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries attacked the canton, by dozens of warplanes, and raided many areas in Afrin, that night no one could sleep for the first time we saw this brutal attack."

"On March 8^th , there was shelling on al-Mahmoudiya neighborhood in Afrin. Three children from the same family were killed, only small pieces  of their flesh remained, a 14-year-old boy and Farhad, 11,  a 14 years old girl ," she said.

."  "One day the shelling began on the village of Taranda, in Afrin vicinity , and led to the death of an mute man; his body remained for two days on the ground until it was recovered as a result of heavy shelling," she said.

 Amina spoke about the role of women in the resistance by protecting and evacuating civilian children, women and the disabled: "Women were ready to provide all kinds of assistance in the city; we set up barricades at the entrances to the neighborhoods to protect them from sleeper cells; there were elderly women aged 70 preparing "Food for the fighters. I witnessed their readiness to resist by all means in order to protect Afrin."

Amina spoke about the role of the women in providing the basic needs for the civilians and displaced from their villages "There were cellars in Afrin , we cleaned to bring civilians into, one of the cellars that had a capacity of 2,000 people, and after the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries bombed the facilities," Amina said. "We were preparing water tanks, providing water for all houses,  we provided gasoline to deliver electricity to houses that contain water wells, the owners of those wells distributed water to their neighbors, relatives, and everyone in need of water."

 "Afrin people  refused to leave the city, because this means surrender. Many civilians were martyred, but refused to go out, insisting on resistance without despair and frustration; it was a real resistance, we had to sleep for two days in a livestock. Nonetheless,  we refused to go out and leave Afrin."

Amina talks about the solidarity among components of northeastern Syria, and their circumvention of Afrin resistance. Arrival of thousands to the canton in support and solidarity with the resistance of the era by saying: "When the delegations came from Al Jazeera thousands people received them, they expressed to us their great pride in the resistance  "Despite the great losses and sacrifices, we were proud and happy that people would unite together in the face of occupation."

Amina (the displaced) wishes that Afrin will be liberated as soon as possible, so that they can return to their land. She  ended her speech by saying: "What happened in Afrin shows that the enemy is afraid of us, so it tried in the worst ways to exterminate and displace us, but despite all the suffering and harsh conditions, we continue to resist and we hope that it will be liberated. Afrin with the vigor and strength of her children's arms."

ANHA