5th Anniversary of “Olive Branch” operation | Displaced people from Afrin tell of stories of their forcible displacement from their land
Today, January 20, all Syrians mark the 5th anniversary of onset of “Olive Branch” military operation which was launched by Turkish forces and their proxy factions on Afrin canton. On that day, January 20, 2018, Turkish fighter jets executed intensive and violent airstrikes on the canton’s populated villages and towns, causing horrific war crimes against unarmed civilians and disregarding all international lows and conventions, amid “shameful” silence by the international community.
The Turkish incursion then led to the displacement of a third of the indigenous inhabitants who sought shelter in refugee camps and almost-complete devastated houses in different Syrian areas, mainly Aleppo countryside. The violations committed by Turkish forces and their proxy factions in Afrin canton have not confined to that military operation, as they started to change the demography of the canton through housing the families of militiamen in residential villages established by Turkish-backed institutions; let alone the seizure and sabotage of archaeological features as a part of efforts to obliterate the Kurdish identity in that canton. In addition, the Turkish language has been adopted as the first language of curriculums, while the Turkish flags have been raised on the canton’s schools, where Turkey has been seeking to impose the “Ottoman identity” in the canton. Ironically, all these violations and reprehensible practices took place in full view of the international community which kept silent and did not lift a finger.
Speaking to SOHR, a 27-year-old displaced man known by his initials as J. A. from Afrin canton said “the operation started with intensive and indiscriminate airstrikes by Turkish fighter jets, which forced me and my family to displace from Sharran district to Afrin city. 15 days later, we displaced again to Al-Shahbaa area in the northern countryside of Aleppo, before we displaced for the third time to Manbij city in eastern Aleppo nearly a week later. I had two houses in Afrin city and Sharran district, and I could not bring any furniture from the two houses. I also abandoned my olive farmland which secured my income, where olive trees in this land had produced over 100 20-litre tins of oil every season. Systematic Turkification is ongoing in Afrin, as Turkish flags have been installed over all official institutions and schools. The remaining indigenous inhabitants are afraid from Turkish-backed factions and avoid traveling in the canton, fearing the factions’ oppression. We hope that we will return to Afrin one day and enjoy peace in our land. However, there are no signs of an imminent return, especially since Turkish-backed factions continue wreaking havoc in the canton, removing entire forests and establish residential villages in the same places.”
Another displaced man from Afrin city known as N. H. told SOHR “before January 20, we knew that Turkey and factions of the “National Army” will launch an incursion into Afrin, when we saw the large military build-ups. This triggered a state of panic among the residents. On that day, Turkey started its incursion, after Turkish fighter jets paved the way for the factions. We were informed that nearly 1,000 militiamen of the “National Army” were killed in the first three days of the operation, which made the factions to ask Turkey for intensifying airstrikes. Airstrikes by Turkish fighter jets did not halt for even a day. They attacked everything and every single fighter. There was a considerable resistance by People’s Protection Units (YPG) on the border strip where battles continued for over a month. However, the intensive airstrikes managed to cause a gap on frontlines, forcing YPG to withdraw gradually to the outskirts of Afrin city. The remarkable thing to us was that services continued in the canton while institutions did not suspend their work. The delivery of drinking water did not suspended even on the day of the occupation of Afrin. In 58 days of attacks, the Turkish army and its proxy groups killed over 350 civilians; they were killed in airstrikes and bombardment, while some were tortured to death. The people who have been forced to displace from Afrin canton to north Aleppo have been struggling from dreadful living conditions in light of ongoing Turkish bombardment and the siege imposed by the Syrian regime.”
In a testimony to SOHR, a man known as A. J. says “the situation in Afrin canton was stable before the Turkish occupation. I was a student in the computer technology institute and worked at a mobile phone store after the school day. Life was easy and simple for all the residents, where the city had not affected the war and its scourages, except for sporadic bombardment with a few shells fired from Azaz and Mare’. At 03:55 pm, I was on the market, buying some goods for the store, and after only five minutes, we heard the sound of fighter jets and violent airstrikes which triggered panic among all residents with women and children crying. It was like as if we were in another city five minutes earlier. The Turkish attack was very violent and cruel, where we could see several fighter jets flying over the city at the same time. A few hours later, silence prevailed in the city and the residents started to displace from border villages to the city. We hosted four families displaced from border villages. Accordingly, five families were living in only one house. After 58 days of airstrikes and bombardment on the canton, we left Afrin, searching for a safe place until we reached Burj Haydar village. The village was overpopulated and, unfortunately, Turkish-backed factions attacked this village too, forcing us to displace once again to Tel Rifaat.”
It is worth noting that Turkey launched several military operations: “Olive Branch,” “Euphrates Shield” and “Peace Spring” operations, with the aim of expanding its presence into Syrian territory under the pretext of “defending national security.” These operations have forced hundreds of thousands of civilians to displace from their houses and land.