Arson fires target livelihoods in North and East Syria

Hundreds of hectares of agricultural land planted with agricultural crops in the countryside of Manbij canton were damaged, leading to huge losses incurred by the canton 's farmers, as a result of the continuous bombing carried out by the Turkish occupation state and its mercenaries.

The Turkish occupation state continues its systematic bombing of the areas of North and East Syria, adjacent to those it occupies in Syrian territory. In addition, mercenaries set fires near the contact lines to burn crops.

This led to the burning of crops on an area of 200 hectares of agricultural land, and approximately 3,000 olive trees, as a result of the fires set by the Turkish occupation mercenaries at dawn on May 10, in agricultural crops near the villages of “al-Bugaz and Qart Wiran” in the western countryside of Manbij.

Citizen Fatima al-Mohammad, from the village of al-Kawkli, says about what happened on their agricultural lands in the village and neighboring villages: “Fire caught fire in our agricultural crops as a result of the Turkish bombing, as the fire started from the village of Korhiyuk, west of the town of al-Arima, all the way to the village of Ilan (Al-Yalani) north of the town of al-Arima, the people. They prepared their agricultural tractors and firefighting equipment, but they could not approach for fear of being targeted.”

She added, regretting the toil of the people, "The strong winds increased the severity of the fires and led to the burning of trees, including olives, grapes, and others, in addition to barley, wheat, and lentils. These fires destroyed all the hopes the people had for their agricultural seasons and eliminated their only source of income."

Fatima indicated that farmers were waiting for the joy of ending the current season with harvest, given the repeated burning of agricultural crops every year by the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation state.

Citizen Wafaa al-Ahmad, from the village of Ilan (Yalani), another witness to the fires that the Turkish occupation mercenaries set on the people’s crops, and what they caused: “The fires burned along the villages located on the front line as a result of the bombing of the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries and their burning of the crops, causing a disaster due to the arrival of smoke into homes, causing cases of suffocation, especially for asthma patients, as a result of which they were transferred to hospitals."

She pointed out their danger to the residents of the villages, saying: “These fires pose a danger to the lives of the people, especially those whose homes are located on the outskirts of the villages, as their homes are surrounded by agricultural lands and quickly flammable weeds, which makes their lives in danger at any moment, in addition to the danger that we live on a daily basis as a result of the occupation and its mercenaries bombed our villages.”

The people of Manbij canton see the targeting of their agricultural lands as another type of effort by the Turkish occupation state to restrict the population. To push them to displace and abandon their homes in order to facilitate their occupation, and to undermine their steadfastness in the villages facing the occupied areas in the region.

There are no accurate statistics for the cultivated areas that have been devoured by the fires of the Turkish occupation state so far, and they are estimated at hundreds of hectares, according to the Agriculture and Irrigation Authority in the Democratic Autonomous Administration of Manbij Canton.

T/ Satt.

ANHA