Afrin- al-Shahba clans announce their support for AANES’ initiative

Dozens of notables of the Afrin and al-Shahba cantons, representatives of political parties and members of civil institutions gathered in the main square of Berxwedan camp, located in the Favin district of al-Shahba canton.

Khalil Manan, a member of the Council of Clan Notables of Afrin and al-Shahba cantons, read the statement in Arabic, while a member of the Democratic Society Training Committee, Damhat Sido, read the statement in Kurdish, and the text of the statement read:

After the killing and displacement of millions of Syrians, the destruction of infrastructure, the blockage of prospects for solutions, the absence of the role of humanitarian and human rights organizations, and the humanitarian catastrophe that befell the country due to the devastating earthquake, security chaos, and recent poor economic conditions in most Syrian regions, especially Afrin and its environs, which are controlled by terrorist groups and under the direct auspices of the government of AKPand the Turkish national movement, and the absence of national positions on the parties to the Syrian conflict.

We see from the initiative put forward by the Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria, which carried in its content an extensive reading of the Syrian situation, an opportunity to renounce differences and preserve the unity of the Syrian soil and people, a great hope that the Syrians would be able to sit at the dialogue table and decide their fate with their own hands.

Reducing the Syrian crisis and its centralization in northern Syria and Turkey's unleashing of terrorist groups to tamper with the fate of the region is an affirmation of the Turkish government's negative role in prolonging the life of the Syrian crisis and realizing its occupation intentions. Therefore, we reject any presence of these terrorist groups in northern Syria and confirm their exit from those areas and handing over the administration of the regions to their residents the originals.

We, the clans' notables and the displaced from Afrin and al-Shahba, affirm our support for the initiative announced by the Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria, due to our conviction that its provisions will achieve stability and a safe and voluntary return to our homes and the rest of the occupied areas.

We also appeal to the Damascus government to listen to this initiative and consider it an opportunity to improve relations between the two parties to complete our war against terrorism lurking in the region, especially the extremist jihadist factions such as Ahrar al-Sham, Ahrar al-Sharqiya and other radical factions, opening the way for humanitarian aid and breaking the siege imposed on the areas of al-Shahba and the people of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh.

We are also well aware of the extent of the involvement of the regional powers and Russia in their attempts to keep Syria as an arena for settling their scores at the expense of the blood of the Syrians.

We renew our support for all initiatives that would end the bloodbath, return to the language of reason and dialogue, and give priority to the national interest over narrow interests.

We also call on the Secretary-General of the United Nations to take practical steps that support the initiative launched by the Autonomous Administration, because it is in the interest of implementing UN resolutions and considering it the gateway to resolving the Syrian crisis and achieving lasting peace in the Middle East.

T/Satt.

ANHA