The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

In search for artifacts with diggers and bulldozers | Turkish intelligence-backed faction destroys ancient hill in Rajo district and forcefully take over civilians’ properties

Aleppo province: SOHR activists have reported that “al-Sham Corps” continues exploiting Afrin civilians by seizing their properties by force and destroying ancient hills in areas under its control in Rajo district of Afrin countryside.

On October 18, “al-Sham Corps” took over an agricultural land in Kazia village in Rajo district and cultivated it despite the presence of its owner in the village.

Moreover, on October 18, the faction harvested and stole the olive of a female civilian of Medan Akbos village in Rajo district, and although she appealed a complaint to the “Military Police” against them, she had to withdrew it over death threats from the leader known initially as “S.A.” Value of the harvest was nearly 70 olives bags.

The faction violations coincided with the ongoing excavations and diggings of the ancient “Naser Hill” in Adama village of Rajo district for 12 consecutive days, in search for antiques and ancient artifacts by heavy diggers, earth-moving machineries and bulldozers by leaders “Salil al-Khalidy” and “Hesham”, the latter was the head of the sector of Medan Akbos village, where the excavations completely destroyed the hill and uprooted the fruit and non-fruit bearing trees that are owned by two civilians known initially as “M.A.” and “N.N.”.

On October 10, SOHR activists reported that Turkish-backed factions, including al-Sham Corps headed by S. A. and the security official called “Hesham”, sabotaged archaeological sites in Maydan Ikbis village since October 4, as they used heavy diggers and earth-moving machineries for digging and excavating al-Naser hill in Adama village in Raju, searching for artifacts and antiquities. The factions also excavated hills in Banyarakah village.

Similarly, al-Hamza Division excavated and destroyed the hill of the archaeological shrine of Abdullrahman in Abdullrahman village in Jendires district since September 22, as the faction’s militiamen felled all bushes in the archaeological site and exhumed the shrine which was a holly shrine for the Yazidis, searching for artefacts and antiquities.