Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafiyeh Council rejects Turkification attempts, occupation's culture

On Thursday, the General Council of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh Neighborhoods issued a statement on the sixth anniversary of the attacks carried out on the cities of Serê Kaniyê and Tel Abyad/Girê Spî. The statement was read in the presence of dozens of residents by the General Council members Mohamed Hajj Mustafa and Dunya Bakr in front of the Martyrs' Square in Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood.

The statement likened the attacks of the Turkish occupation state to the attacks launched against Afrin in 2018, when the city was subjected to brutal attacks and its indigenous population was forcibly displaced. The scene was repeated in Girê Spî and Serê Kaniyê, where the cities were emptied of their residents and replaced by mercenaries as part of policies of demographic change and the obliteration of the region's cultural and historical identity.

The statement condemned the attempts of Turkification and the imposition of the culture of occupation, and noted that the attacks on Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods of Aleppo by forces of the Transitional Government in Syria are merely an extension of these policies, the purpose of which is to displace, divide, and create conflict among the components of the Syrian people.

The statement called on the Syrian people, from all ethnic and religious components, to unite in the face of these attacks. It also appealed to Syrian democratic forces and international organizations to take serious action to halt these violations and prevent the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries from continuing to drag the country into further devastation.

The statement emphasized that a true solution can only be achieved through building a free, democratic Syria based on equal citizenship and social justice, away from exclusion, racism, and foreign dependence. It also confirmed the need to hold accountable all those who have committed crimes against the Syrian people, ensure the return of the displaced to their homes, and protect the rights of all Syrians without exception.

The statement affirmed that they will remain steadfast in their national and humanitarian stance and will continue their resistance against the occupation by all legitimate means until justice is achieved and peace returns to every inch of Syrian land.

J.J

ANHA