Turkish terror in Afrin

For the people in Turkish-occupied Afrin, the first half of the year was mainly characterized by violence and oppression – as stated by the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP). The region in the north-west of Syria had been occupied by Turkey in 2018. “There, Turkish president Erdogan installed a terror regime led by Islamist mercenaries, driving countless people out of the region,” recalled Dr. Kamal Sido, the STP’s Middle East Consultant. “According to reports from Kurdish human rights organizations, twelve people who had fled from Afrin were killed in Turkish artillery strikes, drone attacks, or gunfire in the north of Aleppo over the last six months.”

In the same period, a total number of 173 abductions took place in Afrin. In most cases, the kidnappers are after ransom money. Turkey is still following a policy of Turkishization and Islamization. Due to the daily terror, most of the few Kurdish people still living in Afrin are about to leave, too. According to reports, the Kurdish share of the population has dropped from 90 percent before the occupation to somewhere between 15 and 22 percent. “Further, Afrin’s nature is affected. Over the last few months, 15,500 trees are said to have been felled – including olive, walnut, and almond trees, but also vast forest areas. Apart from that, 70 hectares of grain fields are said to have been destroyed by fire,” Sido reported. “Various Islamist organizations, especially from Qatar, are financing the construction of settlements for the families of the Islamist militiamen.”