Statement of ENKS in memory of the control of the forces Turkey on Afrin

ARK News… The 18th of March marks the third annual anniversary of the invasion of the Turkish forces and the Syrian armed factions affiliated with them over the Kurdish region of Afrin, as these forces imposed their full control over the city and its towns and villages, this increased the suffering of its people, and its original Kurdish sons and their properties became vulnerable to horrific violations and daily crimes, including murder, torture, kidnapping, theft, and extortion under threat, confiscation of private property, bulldozing of olive fields, destruction of public facilities, and looting and deliberate sabotage of archaeological and cultural sites indicative of the history of and the authenticity of the people of the region, in addition to the resettlement of displaced families from the areas of armed conflict in various Syrian cities instead of returning Afrin people displaced by the military operations.

All this with the aim of making a demographic change targeting the Kurdish presence there, and despite monitoring these crimes and violations by some factions, by international humanitarian and human rights organizations, and publishing reports proving the responsibility of the actor and considering it a clear violation of the United Nations Charter and international law, the suffering of the people of Afrin continues. They are persistent and worsen due to daily violations.

The Kurdish National Council, while affirming its continuous condemnation of these violations committed against our people in Afrin, calls on the international community, humanitarian and human rights organizations, and United Nations organizations and bodies to stop them, and calls on Turkey to assume its responsibility there and remove these armed groups from residential areas in Afrin and the towns and villages affiliated with it and hand over its management to its natives.

The Syrian National Coalition also calls for a commitment to implementing the agreement signed with the Kurdish National Council regarding work to stop violations and return the displaced people to their homes.

The Council also calls on the sponsoring countries of the political process, led by the United States of America and Russia, on the necessity of expediting the activation of the Geneva process and UN Resolution 2254 to find a comprehensive solution to the Syrian crisis that guarantees the building of a democratic, pluralistic, federal Syria, whose constitution recognizes the national rights of the Kurdish people and all other national components.

General Secretariat of the Kurdish National Council in Syria
18-3-2021

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