Another bloody year on occupied Afrin, IDPs affirm continuation of resistance until liberation

 Since its occupation by the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries on March 18, 2018, Afrin canton has witnessed daily crimes affecting its indigenous people, its monuments and its nature, amid a despicable silence and the international community's inaction and complicity with the occupation.

 What is remarkable this year is the increase in the crimes such as murder, kidnapping, robbery and destruction. In this report, we will shed light on the brutality of the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries and their shameful violations of humanity.

 ISIS in Afrin

 Turkey has been the main supporter of ISIS mercenaries logistically in Syria, Iraq and other countries.

 A report by the US Treasury confirmed that the cash reserves of ISIS in Turkey exceed $100 million, while the Global Finance Monitoring Authority announced the inclusion of the latter on the gray lists for laundry and supporting ISIS and Al-Qaeda.

 Commenting on this, Gabriel Mustafa, the co-chair of the Bar Association in Afrin, told our agency, "Turkey is using ISIS for its interests at home and abroad."

 He added, "In practice, the Turkish cities and the areas occupied by Turkey and its mercenaries in northern Syria are still the main incubator for ISIS mercenaries, and the best proof of this is that the international coalition targeted al-Baghdadi in Idlib, a few miles from the Turkish border."

 Pictures published in 2019 confirmed the presence of ISIS mercenaries and their slogans in the Shiyah district of the occupied canton of Afrin, and the appearance of mercenaries from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

 According to sources from the occupied canton of Afrin, the mercenaries of "Nour al-Din al-Zenki" expelled his mercenaries from the village of Ramadieh in the district of Jandris in 2019 and recruited mercenaries from "Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham" in the name of the mercenaries of "Nour al-Din al-Zenki".

 Mustafa confirmed that he had information about the names of ISIS leaders who fled to Turkish-occupied areas in northern Syria, and said, "During the liberation of the al-Shahba areas, which were controlled by ISIS terrorist mercenaries, who fled to the Turkish state and the Azaz region, we obtained the names of the fleeing princes;  Among them is Abdul-Jabbar al-Ahmad, the emir of ISIS and is now in Azaz. Abu al-Mughirah was also one of the officials with high positions, and he is from the village of Harbel in al-Shahba canton and is now in Turkey, and Abu Karmo is from the village of Harbel and is now in Turkey.

 Mustafa added: "Through new labels such as the so-called Syrian National Army, their beards were shaved, their clothes changed, and they were entreated in this army.  It released mercenaries from ISIS in the prisons of the so-called Syrian opposition factions.

 Jibril pointed out that "three months ago, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham brought its members to Afrin and Azaz, which turned into two terrorist hotbeds, and practiced torture against the people there, as ISIS used to do in the areas it occupied in Syria previously."

 Women are stripped of life in Afrin

 After the occupation of Afrin canton, the status of women changed radically. After they participated in all aspects of life under the democratic self-administration of Afrin canton for 4 years, today they are subjected to the policies of subjugation through murder, kidnapping and assault;  This year, 13 women were killed by the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation, and 75 were kidnapped, including 5 minors and a baby girl.

 Concerning the situation of women inside the occupied canton of Afrin, our agency, the coordinator member of Kongra Star for the canton of Afrin, Farida Ibo, spoke to us, saying: "Kurdish women in the occupied canton of Afrin are exposed on a daily basis to kidnappings and assaults by mercenaries occupying Afrin canton, as women in Afrin swallow death on a daily basis.  Either she will be killed psychologically, physically or morally, because she is either imprisoned inside prisons or in homes.”

 What is being done against Kurdish women in the occupied canton of Afrin is not a coincidence.  All practices of subjugation and intimidation are targeting the free will of women and an attempt to restrict their thought and exclude them from social life.

 Farida Ibo called on international organizations concerned with women's affairs and rights to intervene and investigate, saying, "Human rights organizations should investigate what is happening in Afrin canton of attacks, rape, arrest and killing of women."

 distorted history

 The Directorate of Antiquities of Afrin Canton documented the crimes of the occupation and its mercenaries against the history of Afrin and its antiquities during 2021, as their number reached 10 archaeological and religious sites, based on satellite images and testimonies of the indigenous population;  Because Turkey and its mercenaries prevented approaching these sites.

 The sites destroyed and looted by Turkey this year are (Tel Jouqa of Afrin city, Tal Qawaqah, Tal Misto Hassan of Shara district, Tal Misto Hassan Tahtani of Shara district, Tel Qara Tepah of Afrin city, Tal Alamdara of Rajo district, and Tal Aljia in district of Shara.  Shera, the cemetery of Bir Manan, the Bargaka site in Janders district, and Kaloteh Castle in Shirawa district, during its bombing on 6/6/2021.

 In this regard, our agency met the co-chair of the Directorate of Antiquities for Afrin canton, Salah Sino, who described the crimes that occupied Afrin is being subjected to, as a historical genocide, and said: "By using heavy machinery and bulldozers, Turkey is excavating and stealing or destroying antiquities.  It is a historical genocide, and to document these violations we face real difficulties, because Turkey prevents approaching archaeological sites because its policies are not exposed."

 He added, "We have exposed, through satellite images, some of these crimes, using scientific methods to document these operations. Turkey shows its racism through these acts, as it violates international conventions and agreements such as the 1954 Hague Convention, the UNESCO Convention 1970-1972, and three decisions of the  The Security Council during the Syrian crisis protects heritage in Syria, and all of it goes against the wall.”

 Crime rate will rise in 2021

 According to the Human Rights Organization in Afrin - Syria, in 2021 alone, 49 civilians were killed, including 13 women and 13 children, and 655 civilians were kidnapped, including 75 women, including 5 minors and a baby.

 In addition to cutting down 16,500 trees, burning more than 5,000 others, seizing more than 11,000 trees and burning tens of hectares.

 In addition, the property of the indigenous people was confiscated and the property was stolen, and 22 settlements and mosques were built under the auspices of Qatari and Kuwaiti associations.

 The official spokesman for the Human Rights Organization in Afrin - Syria, Ibrahim Sheikho, confirmed to our agency that "the situation of the occupied canton of Afrin is getting more complicated day by day, and that the frequency of violations in 2021 is more than in previous years, and the most prominent in this year is the construction of the Turkish occupation state settlements, in  It sought to complete the policy of demographic change, Turkification of the region, and legitimization of its occupation, with the support of 50 mercenaries affiliated with it.

 The Afrin citizen is allowed to reap his crop of olives, if he pays more than $4 in tax for each tree, while the mercenaries cut down trees to trade in their firewood, and Turkey builds mosques in all villages in the city of Afrin to distort and politicize the Islamic religion to serve it.

 Sheikho explained that they sent the reports to international bodies to intervene, but they did not get any answer, and added: "We send the documents we collect to the concerned authorities, such as the Human Rights Council, the Fact-Finding Committee, Amnesty International and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, but these organizations do not play their role.  Effectively, it is satisfied with issuing semi-annual reports indicating the involvement of some mercenary leaders in violations in Afrin, without referring to Turkey at all.

 The racism of the occupying power and its extermination are before the eyes

 What is happening in Afrin is the product of the nationalist mentality on which the Turkish state, which rejects others, was built.  The extermination it carried out against the Armenians, Assyrians and Chaldeans is before our eyes.

 On this, the co-chair of the Executive Council of Afrin region, Bakr Alo, indicated that Turkey has used mercenaries to serve its interests, and said: "Turkey has exploited and controlled mercenaries and put them at the service of its racist and chauvinistic policy."

 He likened Turkey's current actions to the actions of the Ottoman Empire, adding: "Turkey, like the Ottoman Empire, leaves nothing but destruction and wars. What it does by targeting antiquities is targeting human civilization, as it completes the role of ISIS mercenaries."

 "The condemnations of Damascus government officials are not enough"

 Alo touched on the government's position on the Turkish occupation of Syrian lands, criticizing it, saying: "Condemnations by Syrian government officials are not enough. Rather, they must demand the Security Council and other concerned parties to expel Turkey from Syrian territory because it is an occupied country."

 He referred to the resistance of the People's Protection Units and Women, and said, "This resistance is a debt to Europe and the whole world for ending terrorism on the ground, and went on to recall the bombings and killings against Europeans in the years that witnessed a remarkable activity by ISIS mercenaries."

 The resistance in al-Shahba guarantees the liberation of Afrin

 Alo stressed the need for the Turkish occupying state to submit to international courts for what it is doing in the occupied canton of Afrin, and said: "Turkey must submit to international courts for the war crimes it is committing in the areas it occupies in northern Syria. It is not enough for us to condemn America, Russia and the human rights authorities,  What is happening in Afrin in particular has reached the level of ethnic genocide."

 He concluded, "Our stay in al-Shahba is a step to liberate Afrin. We are ready to sacrifice everything we have to stay here and struggle to return to Afrin. What will result from this struggle is the liberation of Afrin, and we are clinging to this position."

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 ANHA