Middle of Afrin witnesses the stealing of copper cables lasted for more than 3 hours without being stopped, as the factions continue their violations against the people and public property

Aleppo Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: violations continue in Afrin area in the northwestern countryside of Hama, where intersected sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that after the end of lootings by the Turkish-backed factions for the citizens property and the contents of inhabited and uninhabited houses, and confiscating and burning houses and farms, the factions operating in the Turkish forces-led “Olive Branch” operation began looting the public property, where the Syrian Observatory monitored during the past 48 hours gunmen of the Sultan Murad Division cutting off the copper electric cables, assembling, and stealing them from an area near al-Nowruz Roundabout in the middle of Afrin, where some people came out to question their identity and why they were there, but a member of the group said: “we are thieves, you better enter your home,” also another person asked them why are they cutting the copper electricity cables, another member answered in the same way: “we are fixing the electricity for you”, and the local sources confirmed that in conjunction with this robbery, a military police patrol passed through the area where the division of Sultan Murad are stealing the cables, which led a verbal altercation and very loud screams, but the Free Police were unable to stop the robbery and returned to its headquarters, after which the Turkish armored vehicles came to roam in the area, which pushed members of the group to flee but they came back to complete the stealing one the Turkish patrol left the area, the sources confirmed that this stealing lasted more than 3 hours without any force to prevent them from stealing.

The Syrian Observatory published yesterday that Afrin is still witnessing violations, where neither the cries of the sufferers nor the decisions of those controlling it stoped these violations, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that the factions operating within the Operation “Olive Branch” are continuing to carry out violations against the people of Afrin area, who refused to displace and stayed in their houses, villages and towns, and the local sources confirmed again that the factions are seeking through the arrests to trade in the detainees, through arresting residents on charge of various accusations, most of which are related to their relations with the Kurdish forces during the period of the latter’s control on Afrin, then the detainees are tortured and contact takes place with their relatives to pay sums of money in return for releasing them, while reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that these violations targeted more residents, along with the continuation of the factions operating within the Operation “Olive Branch” to detain hundreds of Syrian citizens of the people of Afrin area in their detention centers, and to torture and insult them.

The Syrian Observatory monitored in a video -of which the Syrian Observatory received a copy- persons believed to be of a faction operating in Afrin area, beating a man from Afrin area and forcing him to direct a massage to his relatives to collect the money they have and pay it to the faction in return for setting him free, which provoked the locals’ resentment, and the non response of the Turkish forces to the complains that were presented by the residents, escalated the pace of this resentment, where the residents have informed the Syrian Observatory that they presented a lot of complains to the Turkish forces but they ignored them.

And the Syrian Observatory monitored in the past 36 hours clashes that took place between the factions operating within the Operation “Olive Branch” against members, the factions said that they are cells of the Kurdish forces in Afrin area, where clashes took place between the both parties, which resulted in the death of several members of these cells, and information about human losses in the ranks of the factions, and the SOHR also monitored about 105 assassinations and assassination attempts, which targeted the forces which are in control of Afrin area, which are continuing to prevent the citizens from returning from the northern countryside of Aleppo, towards their towns, villages and houses from which they have been displaced, the last of which was targeting and killing one of the members of the local councils on charge of espionage for the Turkish forces and the forces of “Olive Branch”, through setting up a checkpoint and shooting him.

The Syrian Observatory published two days ago, that it monitored that the factions in Sheikh Hadid Township, have sat fire to the property of citizens, some of whom are of the same family, in addition to the continuation to detain hundreds of citizens in their prisons and detention centers, in order to collect money from their families in return for releasing them, while reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that the authorities which are in control of Afrin area, have changed the names of some squares, and deliberately named one of the squares of Afrin city as the “President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Square”, and the Syrian Observatory also published 4 days ago, that Afrin in the northwestern countryside of Aleppo is living between action and reaction, between violation, torture, arrest, royalties collecting, looting, stealing, and targeting, and between all of that the citizen continues to suffer more, at a time hewer the forces that came to Afrin, attacked it, and now controlling it claimed that they came to “liberate” the area, but the liberation was not as expected, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored bulldozers of “Olive Branch” operation cutting fruit and old olive trees in Hammam area and other areas in the countryside of Afrin, with the aim of creating space for establishing camps and headquarters by the factions operating in the Turkey-supported “Olive Branch” Operation, coincided with the continued collection of royalties by these factions from the citizens, who pay a royalty after the other, in addition to the arrest which has become a profitable trade, by fabricating charges against citizens to obtain money from them in exchange for their release.

The SOHR also published on the 5th of August 2018, that the checkpoints which were set up by factions operating within the Operation “Olive Branch” led by Turkey, on the road to Azaz and within the side streets in Afrin area, impose sums of money on the citizens as they pass through these roads and checkpoints, where all of those check points force the residents to pay sums of money, in return for allowing the vehicles they ride on to cross, it also go far and reached that some of the checkpoints threatened the citizens by firearm, and they also impose larger royalties on the citizens and merchants who have goods or possessions with them during their travel, and the locals confirmed that factions including Sultan Murad Division, al-Hamzah Division and other factions operating in the area, imposed this kind of royalties, and the Syrian Observatory monitored about 72 hours ago, that a check point of al-Hamzah Division got citizens and citizen women off a mini-bus, abused and swore at them, and drew and directed weapons to them, because the passengers refused to pay a sum of money of 2000 SP (less than 6 Dollars), and these violations are animated on the road between Azaz and Afrin, as a result of the heavy traffic on the road as it is considered a main road for vehicles and buses, while the residents confirmed that the complains they presented to the Turkish forces which are located in Afrin, were ignored and the violations of the factions have not been stopped, and the members who committed violations against the residents, have not been even questioned.