Fourth anniversary of Turkish occupation of Tel Abyad and Ras Al-Ain | Chronic tragedy and “shameful” inaction by international powers
On October 9, 2019, Turkish forces and their proxy factions, which operate under the banner of the Turkish-backed “National Army,” stormed the cities of Ras Al-Ain (Sere Kaniye) and Tel Abyad, where they started systematic destruction and demographic change.
The violent attack caused substantial material damage and left heavy losses; let alone the atrocities practiced by the factions. However, the two cities’ residents continue their resistance hoping that they will be able to expel the Turkish and their proxies from the city one day and foil their schemes to expand in north Syria region, so that the scenario of the occupation of Liwaa Iskenderun region will not repeat.
Turkish forces and their proxy factions have wreaked havoc in the two cities and intentionally used internationally prohibited materials, such as incendiary phosphorus.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has frequently demanded influential international authorities to start investigation about the use of chemical weapons by Turkish forces in Ras Al-Ain and Tel Abyad cities, as well as genocides, kidnaps, arbitrary arrests, raping, and persecution practiced against feminists, human rights activists, party leaders and everybody expressing their rejection of the presence of Turkish forces and their proxy factions in the region in general.
Since the Turkish occupation of the two cities, Ankara has been proceeding with systematic demographic change by forcing indigenous inhabitants of the two cities to displace and house affiliated mercenaries and their families from different provinces instead. Meanwhile, the international community continue its “shameful” inaction regarding those violations and crimes.
Moreover, residents, who have chosen to stay in their areas over displacement, have endured inhumane treatment, including humiliation, assaults, abuse and injustice.
Those war crimes should not be ignored, and all perpetrators must be held accountable and face justice.
Not only have Turkish forces attempted to change the demography and identity of the region, but also they practiced repression, through their proxy factions which intentionally marginalised all constituents of the Syrian society in this region and religious minorities, destroyed shrines and symbols, forced indigenous residents to displace and committed scores of blatant violations.
We, at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), call upon all influential powers and authorities to exert pressure on Turkey to withdraw from all areas they occupied in north Syria region and stop their violations, which are amount to war crimes, and protect Syrians civilians from violations and humiliation.
SOHR confirms that violations committed by Turkish forces and their proxies are still ongoing in north Syria, where the number of displaced people is estimated to be nearly 300,000.
We have been all along warning against the unwelcome repercussions of the ongoing inaction by the international community regarding those practices which violate all international conventions and human rights laws.
We would like to point out that the Turkish-backed factions and mercenaries stationed at security checkpoints in that region have imposed levies on civilians, seized properties of forcibly displaced people and continue their arbitrary arrests against civilians who have chosen to stay in their areas over displacement to force them to leave the region.
We also would like to remind the world that Ankara’s “evil” schemes came to the fore many years before the Syrian Revolution, as Turkey had planned to establish two cities between the cities of Ain Al-Arab (Kobani) and Ras Al-Ain (Sere Kaniye) in order to be an extension of the Turkish cities. However, international powers expressed then their rejection of this project.