📰 Turkish-backed factions loot Afrin’s Kurdish farmers over olive harvests – STJ

AFRIN, syria/" class="auto-internal-link">syria (North Press) – A emerging report released on Tuesday by syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ) disclosed widespread looting, extortion, and financial exploitation of Kurds in the Afrin region of northwestern Syria, particularly targeting olive farmers, by Turkish-backed armed factions, collectively known as the syrian national Army (SNA). STJ reaffirmed the right of victims to demand fair compensation for both material and moral damages inflicted by these groups. as per the report, SNA factions have imposed various levies and fees on Afrin residents since the occupation commenced in 2018. The findings were based on 39 in-depth testimonies from Kurdish witnesses, farmers, landowners, and olive press operators.

The report identified multiple factions responsible, including Sultan Suleiman Shah Division (al-Amshat), Hamza Division, Sultan Murad Division, Muntasir Billah, Mu’tasim Billah, the Ninth Division, Sham Legion (Faylaq al-Sham), and Division 51 of the Levant Front (al-Jabha al-Shamiya). The levies targeted all aspects of the olive industry—from harvesting to pressing and trade. STJ noted that farmers who refused to pay were subjected to beatings, arrests, property confiscation, or even the destruction of olive trees. “Both official and unofficial justice systems are practically nonexistent, and those that do exist are mostly ineffective,” the report read. “This circumstances persists amid widespread impunity.

Moreover, ”  STJ stressed that despite the SNA’s nominal dissolution and integration into the Ministry of Defense of the Syrian transitional administration, these factions continue to exercise de facto control over significant parts of Afrin. The report serves as an urgent warning to protect farmers’ rights and livelihoods and prevent further exploitation in 2025. Reporting by Malin Mohammed Editing by Jwan Shekaki