Illegal excavation for antiquities | Turkish-backed factions continue to bulldoze archaeological sites and hills in Afrin

Aleppo province: Reliable sources have informed SOHR that the Turkish-backed factions have bulldozed with heavy machinery and bulldozers the archaeological Burj Abd Al-Wu hill, in search of relics and buried treasures.

The hill is located near Burj Abdul-Wu village, south of Afrin. It is one of the archaeological hills registered under the Ministry of Culture and the Syrian Antiquities Directorate in the resolution of (244/A) in 1981.

It is worth noting that excavation and vandalism by Turkish factions have affected the surface to and west of the Acropolis.

On February 14, as Turkish-backed factions operating under the banner of “National Army” continue illegal excavations of antiquities in Afrin area northwest of Aleppo, reliable sources informed Syrian Observatory that Turkish-backed factions were bulldozing with heavy machinery the archaeological “Tel Laq” in Sharan district since Turkish forces and factions loyal to them took control of Afrin in 2018.

“Acropolis hill” and its surrounding areas had also been sabotaged and damaged, and forest trees and fruit-bearing trees had been cut down with the aim of searching for relics and antiquities.