Afrin… An organization describes the "National Army" as a human locust

ARK News… The Human Rights Organization in Afrin described the armed factions represented by the national army as human locusts: “Where humans, stones, and trees were not spared from the human locust convoys” in the Afrin region in Syrian Kurdistan.

The Organization said: The leader of the Sultan Murad militia, called Arraba Idris (the nephew of Major General Salim Idris, the former Minister of Defense and Chief of Staff of the Free Syrian National Army), who is based in the village of Barava of Shara township, issued a decision regarding the expulsion of any person, who is arrested with a quantity of a fire wood, to outside the village from the villages that it controls (Shara town center - Khirbet Shara - Gabalaka - Barava - Chama - large Qurtqulaqe - small Qurtqulaqe – Matina - Halaoubiya - Alke - Kafarom), Note that his members and settlers, under his protection, have over the past two years eliminated more than 75% of the green areas surrounding the aforementioned villages, including cutting forest and fruit trees from their stumps or setting fires deliberately in front of the Turkish occupation forces' eyes without any considerations but with complicity and encouraging them in order to impoverish the indigenous population of the Kurds and pressure them in various economic, psychological and social methods, based in their inhuman practices on the saying of the Turkish governor, "We must find the Kurds walking barefoot in Afrin." In recent days, we have only referred to forest tree cutting operations (oaks - pine trees) by 60 people from the Free Syrian National Army and settlers by means of (mechanical) chainsaws in the mountains surrounding the village of Chobana in Jenderes township, and selling them firewood (Avdi KHaje Hill – Esso Hill.”

The Organization added: On the other hand, they deliberately set fires to eliminate forest wealth without estimating the environmental damage that results from that (the series of fires in the Hawar Mountains - and the forest fires surrounding the villages of Hajj Hassana and Ramadana - forest fires in the mountains and surrounding hills around the Midanky Dam - Forest Road the village of Omara, Dikmadashe and Dersiwan - the burning of the forest overlooking the village of Avraze and Khirbet Ruta).

It continued: During the past week, the armed elements of the Liwaa Al Shamal faction, who are controlling a number of villages in the Bulbul sub-district, cut down about 100 olive trees from the field on the main road leading to the village of Za’re, owned by the citizen Muhammad Habib, known as the family of (Muhammad Jirjik) from residents of the Bulbul town center, and they sale the firewood to a store in the Ashrafiya neighborhood. They also cut down about 50 olive trees belonging to the citizen Mannan Habib near the center of Bulbul township, in front of the eyes of the Turkish occupation forces and the civil and military police, despite his sister's objection at the headquarters of the wishes and her presentation of the agency paper issued by the local council for tree service, whether related by plowing, scavenging, harvesting, and preventing thieves from stealing and cutting down trees.

The Organization indicated: In continuation of the documentation we touched on 23/08/2020 (the armed elements of the Sham Legion who are in control of the village of Diraqliya of the Shara township informed the people of the village and its mayor on Monday 17/08/2020 to guarantee the olive fields and vineyards. Located on the east of the main road, owned by the indigenous Kurds in the village, which is estimated at about 22-25 thousand olive trees and more than 30 vineyards for grapes, including walnut and almond trees for their personal benefit, without the knowledge of the renter, and it is a pretext for the purpose of seizing and plundering the property and crops of the people) on Friday 04/09/2020, the members of the Ah Sham Legion, after performing the sermon and praying in the village mosque, required seizing the olive harvest (spoils) and giving the owner who is in the village only a certain amount of money in exchange for the crop, the amount is estimated according to their estimates, and at the same time, the royalty was imposed on the existing Kurdish citizens (the owner) to pay 2 dollars for each olive tree (who owns 100 trees, he must pay 200 dollars). In addition to what he bears from plowing expenses - scavenging - workers' wages. With a simple inventory of the farmer's account, he is a loser in his field in front of the waves of human locusts. One of the citizens got an amount of 150,000 Syrian pounds for 160 olive trees in one of his fields.

The Organization confirmed: Note that Kurdish citizens, until today, do not know who is the (renter)of their fields and what are the sums of money that were agreed upon between the members of the Sham Legion militia, "the Free Syrian National Army," and the unknown renters. In the event that Kurdish citizens reject their decisions, they threaten, kidnap, and accuse them of dealing with the previous administration, compulsory service, and collecting ransoms in exchange for their later release or handing them over to the Turkish occupation forces.

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