afrinpost – Exclusive
“In the stricken town of Jindires, the primary focus of the Turkish-supported militants is to search for money among the debris, not for survivors. Internal conflict has arisen among these groups regarding the distribution of food support and the task of grave digging.”
Reliable sources from the earthquake-stricken town of Jindires, now under occupation, confirmed the severe discord among the Turkish-backed militants. The division arose over the control and distribution of the rubble from fallen buildings, with each faction claiming control over at least 20 structures. In the guise of rescue efforts, these militants are looting the remains, taking advantage of the disaster to steal money, jewelry, household items, and any other valuable items left undamaged by the earthquake.”
On the other hand, the militias used force to seize bulldozers, and on February 10, armed men prevented seven bulldozers from working.
It is worth noting that it was officially announced on February 10 that the rescue operations for those trapped under the rubble had been completed, and that the next operations would only aim to recover the bodies, four days after the earthquake occurred.
In addition, afrinpost has received information of overt racist behavior by pro-Turkey militias. The committees in charge of distributing food are inquiring about the ethnicity of those in need and denying assistance to Kurds based solely on their identity.
In a deeply disturbing and racist act related to the task of burying the dead, the digging of mass graves is sometimes carried out by an excavator. However, those in charge of the excavation and the driver of the machine are inquiring about the ethnicity of the deceased and refusing to dig the grave if they are of Kurdish origin. This leaves families with the arduous task of manually digging the grave at a time when they are already overwhelmed, frantically searching for survivors amidst the rubble. Such callous and discriminatory behavior is reprehensible and goes against the very essence of human dignity.
