afrinpost-exclusive
Local reports indicate a significant increase in olive harvest theft in Afrin, despite the official harvest start date being set for October 15, 2024. This early date, which is ahead of the traditional timing, has been exploited as a pretext for the theft of olive crops by armed groups and IDPs in the region.
According to a weekly report by the Kurdish Democratic Unity Party (Yekiti), militias such as “Al-Hamzat Division” have imposed heavy taxes on villages in Rajo, including “Kumrash, Hassan, Qudeh, Hajika, Darwish, and Moskeh.” These taxes range from $150 to $250 per olive field under the pretense of providing protection from theft. However, thefts by militants and IDPs continue unabated, with additional taxes of 7% imposed on the remaining residents’ crops and up to 40% on absentee landowners’ fields. The situation is worse for widows with absent children, who face a 60% levy on their harvests.
In the villages of “Telaf, Kafr Ziet” and their surroundings, south of Afrin, IDPs, including women and children, have been involved in large-scale olive thefts. Meanwhile, the economic office of the “Al-Hamzat Division” in Basouta delayed harvest permits, only granting them after their committee assessed the yield of each field. If the yield was substantial, a tax of $2 was imposed per tree, regardless of size. In cases of lower yield, a tax of $0.5 to $1 was applied per tree.
Additionally, the militias canceled the power of attorney for displaced citizens living under the control of the Syrian regime or the Autonomous Administration, seizing their fields. They also imposed a 30% tax on crops from fields owned by citizens living abroad. Even those who returned to Afrin this year have not regained control of their seized lands, including the widow of Shawkat Nassan from Telef, whose 1,000 olive trees remain confiscated despite her return in July.
In the Shara/Sharan sub-district, “Sultan Malik Shah Division” has imposed taxes on villages including “Shara, Kharabi Shara, Matina, Jema, Sinka, and Kubalaka.” These taxes amount to 12% of the overall olive production, with the militias prohibiting the export of crops to other areas. They collect the levies directly from oil mills, while seizing 40% of the harvests from fields they control.
In villages such as “Deir Sawan, Shiltaate, and Marsawa,” the “Sultan Murad Division” has revoked all displaced citizens’ powers of attorney and seized their properties. Returning citizens this year have been denied access to their lands, while remaining residents face an 8% tax on their olive harvests.
Since October 10, 2024, groups of IDPs, accompanied by militants, have been stealing olives at night from around 500 trees belonging to locals in the village of “Hasandera” in Bulbul sub-district, including those owned by Fawzi Sheikho, Jihad Khalil, Ibrahim Khalil, Mohamed Sheikho, and Barzani Hameed Mustafa.
This wave of extortion and theft deepens the hardships faced by Afrin’s residents, many of whom rely on olive farming as their primary source of income.
