afrinpost– Exclusive
In recent times, the pace of establishing settlement blocs in occupied Afrin has intensified as part of the Turkish government’s plan to resettle Syrian refugees on its territories, aiming to solidify demographic changes in the Kurdish region.
According to the North Press Agency, it has been reported today, Thursday, that the construction of a new settlement has been completed on the slopes overlooking the village of Şadêrê/Sheikh al-Der in the Shirawa subdistrict. The new settlement comprises approximately 50 residential buildings.
Simultaneously, dozens of heavy excavation and leveling vehicles are currently working on extensive areas of the nearby mountains near the village of Iskan, south of Afrin, preparing the ground for the establishment of new settlements covering an area exceeding 30 hectares. The planned settlements are expected to include 1,500 houses along with accompanying facilities such as a mosque, school, and park.
On May 8, 2023, the village of Şadêrê witnessed the inauguration of a new settlement project named “Um Tuba,” named after a Palestinian village southeast of Jerusalem that provided funding for the project. The settlement project is located south of the “Basmet” settlement project. The new settlement village consists of 40 residential apartments, accommodating a total of 281 settler families, equivalent to approximately 1,700 individuals.
Furthermore, with Palestinian support, the “Ansar” Relief Organization completed the construction of the “Hope 2” settlement on Mount Lelûn, southeast of Afrin, on May 6, 2023. The new settlement was established as part of a cluster of more than five settlements. The project was built on land seized from the private properties of Afrin residents, specifically at the northern entrance of Gobelê Farm (10 houses) in the village of Jilbir – Rubaria, which was forcibly emptied of its inhabitants during the aggression on the area.
In a related context, celebrations took place today in the town of Ghindoura in the occupied Jarablus area, marking the laying of the foundation stone for a large housing project, attended by Turkish Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu. The project encompasses 240,000 residential units spread across nine different regions in northern Syria, with a timeline of three years. Its objective is to accommodate approximately one million Syrian refugees expected to return to the region.
