afrinpost-exclusive
Today, the occupied regions in northern Aleppo and Afrin witnessed widespread protests opposing the Turkish forces there, rejecting reconciliation with the Syrian regime, and protesting the opening of crossings with regime-controlled areas.
In Afrin city, armed clashes occurred between armed IDPs, the civilian police militia, and Turkish forces. The IDPs stormed the old Saraya building, which serves as the headquarters for the Turkish governor. They were met with direct gunfire, resulting in several injuries and arrests by the civilian police.
Following the arrests, IDPs and militants fired at the Saraya building, leading to further clashes. Protesters subsequently expelled the civilian police from the vicinity of the building.
In another incident, IDPs tore down Turkish flags at the entrance of Kafr Jannah village in the Shara sub-district, also removing the Turkish flag from the Turkish base in the village.
In the occupied city of Azaz, demonstrators stormed the Bab al-Salama border crossing between Syria and Turkey, burning and expelling Turkish trucks, and tearing down Turkish flags from all official buildings. They also removed the Turkish flag from the Shatt checkpoint connecting Azaz and Afrin, chanting anti-Turkish slogans.
Additionally, armed locals from the town of Mare’ seized the Turkish industrial building in Mare’, expelling employees and taking control. Meanwhile, in the city of al-Bab, protesters burned a Turkish truck, removed all Turkish flags, and barred other trucks from entering the city.
In response to the burning of Turkish flags, Turkish forces closed the Bab al-Salama and al-Rai border crossings between Syria and Turkey until further notice.
