The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Raqqah Arab Tribal Forum: we must unite and stop Turkey’s attempts to control more land bring about demographic change in the area

The Arab tribes in the Syrian north held today the work of the Meeting of Arab Tribes and Clans in “al-Mashlab” area in al-Raqqah city, and according to what the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned, the forum was attended by a large number of Arab tribe elders and Sheikhs in al-Raqqah and in various areas at the north and east of Syria, in addition to delegations represented the Autonomous Administration of north and east of Syria, the Syria Democratic Forces, and the Internal Security Forces in al-Raqqah.

The Syrian Observatory monitored the speech of Sheikh Fawaz al-Biek, the notable of “al-Sakhani” clan at the beginning of the forum on behalf of the al-Raqqah clans, in which he called on “all Syrians to stand together and reject differences and put them aside, and stop fighting each other, in order to satisfy some external forces, which deepens the crisis in Syria and creates an open space for Turkey to swallow more Syrian territory and displace its people.”  The “Biek” also called on to “intensify the work by all community, tribal, and official parties, in order to host the displaced from areas of Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn, and provide them with all forms of support, and working to help them return to their original areas, in order to prevent the demographic change that Turkey is seeking.”

Also, Abdelhamid al-Mehbash, the joint chairman of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration, said that it is necessary to “unite the Arab tribes and all components of the area in the face of Turkish aggression against the Syrian north’s areas,” he also stressed “the importance of the international community in general and the countries concerned with the Syrian file in particular; to assume their responsibilities by applying all the agreements and stop Turkey from committing more violations against the Syrian people, and stop the occupation of more Syrian territory and the demographic changes that Turkey is seeking to carry out in areas of the Syrian north.”