Afrinpost – Special
The Afrinpost correspondent in the center of the occupied Kurdish region of Afrin in northern Syria reported that the Turkish occupation authorities temporarily prevent cutting olive trees until the end of the olive season, while settlers are replacing cutting them by cutting down forest trees, but of course, the theft of olives, the oil season, and looting olive presses will not be stopped by settlers and militants of the Islamic militias affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
In the context, the wife of a gunman affiliated with the “Sultan Murad Division” militia said that they are going to cut down forest trees in the Raju Mountains, because the Turkish occupation authorities have prohibited in principle the cutting of olive trees until the season ends.
The “Afrinpost” reporter in Afrin stated that he learned from a Kurdish citizen that a gunman from Ghouta called “Abu Samir” goes daily to the Rajo Mountains with his wife and cuts down forest trees in the village of “Quda” and “Sheikh Belo” near “Ave Resh” River.
The reporter noted the gunman’s wife, who said that the Turkish occupation “has now prevented cutting olive trees in order to steal from the olive season as in the previous two seasons, and then they will allow cutting them again.” The settler said, “We are forced to cut trees to sell them and use them for heating as well.” ( As she claimed).
The correspondent stated that there are groups of gunmen also cutting down trees, such as the “Ahrar Al-Sharqiya” militia, where gunmen affiliated with them opened a shop to sell firewood after cutting down trees on the Afrin-Maarata road.
Since the occupation of Afrin region, the Turkish occupation authorities have followed a systematic policy to destroy nature, and the leaked photos from Afrin show the extent of the change taking place in Afrin, as all the trees of Al-Mahmudiyeh forest were cut down, which was full of trees.
