afrinpost-Exclusive
Local sources reported that Turkish-backed militias are preventing Kurdish residents from preparing for the olive harvest season in the occupied region of Afrin. They have been threatened with direct murder if they proceed with harvesting their crops.
Some locals from the Bulbul sub-district attempted to obtain burlap sacks from olive presses to prepare for the harvest. However, the authorities at the presses refused, citing a directive from the “Sultan Murad” militia. The directive forbids olive harvesting until the beginning of next November, and anyone who starts their season and enters their land “will receive nothing but a bullet.”
Sources have confirmed that the goal of the Turkish-backed National Army militias is to create opportunities for their members and leaders to steal and plunder the harvest under the watchful eye of the Turkish authorities in Afrin.
“afrinpost” has also been documenting almost daily incidents of theft and looting from olive fields by armed individuals and IDPs. This is happening while Kurdish landowners in their villages and the city center are unable to protect their fields, despite filing complaints with the Turkish authorities.
Additionally, IDPs from the Mawali tribe in the areas of Rajo, Jindires, and Shaykh al-Hadid in the occupied Afrin countryside formed groups in early September. Among these groups were women and children who divided the olive fields among themselves with the agreement of checkpoints belonging to the National Army and military police, with the promise of receiving their shares.
