Mercenaries, their families flee Afrin as involvement in battles

 Local sources from occupied Afrin confirm that Turkish-backed mercenaries and their families are leaving the city and its surrounding villages, seeking refuge in other Syrian regions. These departures come in response to possible deployment orders for military engagements against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), particularly near Tishrin Dam.

 Reports from Afrin’s 366 villages indicate that many mercenaries have fled along with their families, abandoning settlements they had occupied since the 2018 invasion.

 Field investigations conducted by ANHA agency, based on local sources and eyewitness accounts, have documented the following:

 In Bêxçe village (Belbile district), where 82 families of Turkish-backed mercenaries had settled, only one family remains.

 In Heyûm village, also in Belbile, 42 settler families have fled, leaving only eight behind. Before departing, they engaged in retaliatory vandalism, including stealing doors and demolishing parts of houses.

 Elbîskê, a village near the Turkish border in Rajo district, has been entirely abandoned by settlers.

 In Edemû, another nearby village, mercenary bases have been emptied, with only one settler family remaining, preparing to leave by spring.

 Approximately 90% of the settler families in Meydana (Rajo district) have fled, with the remaining 10% reportedly making preparations to leave.

 In Gemrokê (Mabata district), only two out of 100 settler families remain; most had been affiliated with the so-called "Hamzat Division."

 Hesiyê (Mirkan) village in Mabata district has also witnessed the mass flight of mercenary families, numbering in the dozens.

 Retaliatory Destruction and Looting

 The evacuations have been accompanied by acts of vandalism and looting. Mercenaries have deliberately destroyed house walls using sledgehammers, stolen doors, electrical wiring, and other materials. Some homes were set on fire.

 Amid ongoing security chaos, Turkish-backed mercenaries have continued exploiting the situation to loot civilian properties. Since the occupation of Afrin in 2018, residents have suffered systematic intimidation and displacement.

 According to the latest data on Afrin’s demographic shifts, ANHA agency has documented the construction of 18 settlements and five camps, facilitating the relocation of approximately 648,000 settlers over the past seven years. This process has systematically altered Afrin’s demographic makeup, replacing its predominantly Kurdish population.

 Before the 2018 Turkish occupation, Kurdish residents comprised 95% of Afrin’s population. Today, due to forced displacement and ongoing repression, Kurds make up less than 20% of the total population.

a.k

ANHA