Turkey is trying to resettle Turkmen families in Afrin villages and towns

ARK News: A Syrian human rights organization said on Tuesday, that the Turkish forces are trying to resettle some Turkmen families in border villages and towns in the Kurdish region of Afrin, in order to promote their expansionist settlement projects and change the demographics of the people of the region.

The Human Rights Organization in Afrin said in a statement ARK News received a copy of it: Since the Turkish occupation forces entered and attacked the Afrin region (March 2018), accompanied by armed militias of the Syrian Interim Government and the National Coalition, under the pretext of fighting terrorism and preserving the unity and integrity of the Syrian territory, they have brought terrorist elements within the framework of those militias by virtue of their previous affiliation with the headquarters for the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (formerly Al-Nusra Front) and the terrorist organization ISIS firstly, and their attempt to cut part of the Kurdish lands attached to the Syrian state in order to annex it to Turkish territory secondly.

The organization added: To enhance its expansionist settlement projects, Turkey is trying to settle some Turkmen families in border villages and towns, changing the demographics of the people of the region and displacing the border points (milestones) previously drawn within the Kurdish lands with a view to annexing them and deducting part of those lands with the contribution of the armed elements of the Syrian government Temporary and with the approval of the political representatives of that government within the framework of the so-called National Coalition.

The Organization made clear, that from this standpoint, we are facing a scene in which the Kurdish people suffer in the Afrin region as a result of a new series of violations and inhuman practices by the calculated militias who are close to the Turkish government (Turkmen factions) accompanied by an atmosphere of chaos and security chaos and a lack of stability and security.

The organization said: With the advent of the winter season and our entering the winter fortieth, the majority of schools in Bulbul town did not take the necessary reserves to face the severe cold, whether by providing heaters or the necessary fuel and broken windows in a number of schools, and this led to the absence of a number of students during the past week as a result of their illness (caching cold), as well as fear of transmitting the infection to the rest of the students.

The Organization noted that last year, diesel was not secured in schools except at the end of winter and the beginning of spring.

The Organization also confirmed that the armed militias belonging to the Sultan Murad faction controlling the village of Quota, led by the so-called doctor, imposed on each family in the village a royalty in the amount of 1-2 oil tanks, according to the season, in addition to imposing huge royalties on most villages of Shiye town, which are estimated with 1,000 per family under the threat of weapons by Al-Amshat faction gangs

The Organization stated that the armed militias of the Sultan Murad faction had coordinated with the settlers to cut about 15,000 olive trees owned by the people of Za’re and a number of fields surrounding the people of the neighboring villages.

At last, the Organization also said: The Turkish forces are currently demarcating the border again by displacing the border inside the Kurdish lands by about 300 meters and placing special concrete blocks near the villages (Za`re - Ali Kara) in anticipation of the demarcation of the border again in the future.

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