Afrin... Armed factions uproot hundreds of fruitful cherry and olive trees

ARK News… In continuation of the violations against the people and nature of the city of Afrin in Syrian Kurdistan, hundreds of fruitful olive and cherry trees were uprooted from their roots in the outskirts and countryside of the city of Afrin in Syrian Kurdistan.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that members of the “Hamza Division” uprooted “600” cherry trees in (Bêlê village) in the Bilbile in the countryside of Afrin city, owned by an immigrant in the displacement camps, to trade in their firewood and sell them in the markets for financial benefit.

The Observatory added that gunmen uprooted (18) olive trees in (the village of Qijûma) in the Jenderes district of Afrin countryside, which belongs to the people of the village, and which is controlled by the Hamza Division, in addition to cutting down 35 trees on the road between Kawkaba and Tilfe in the countryside of Jenderes, and 46 trees in several lands located between the district of Shara and the village of Matina in the countryside of Afrin, with the aim of converting them into firewood and selling them in the markets for financial benefit.

Local sources confirmed that the price of one ton of firewood reaches about 150 US dollars for olive trees and 100 dollars for forest trees, cypress and pine.

According to organizations working to document violations in Afrin, more than one and a half million trees have been cut down since March 2018.

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