Turkey-backed mercenaries and settlers have decimated more than 21 million fruit trees in Afrin (Efrîn) since their occupation began in March 2018, according to the Local Administration and Environment Body of Afrin and al-Shahba cantons, as reported on Tuesday by Hawar News Agency (ANHA). These mercenaries have also systematically cut down trees to sell the wood, leading to severe ecological and economic damage in the region.
In addition to the deforestation, fires were deliberately set, burning hundreds of forest and olive trees. The fires devastated extensive areas of fields and forests, eradicating vegetation and harming local agriculture, the Centre for Evidence of Violations in North and East Syria said in a report on Monday.
In the village of Sarincik, located in Afrin’s Sharan district, over 300 olive trees owned by local residents were destroyed by intentional fires. The report highlights that these fires have also impacted large areas around villages near the town of Balbala, such as Beka and Zara, and those near Rajo (Raju), including Adama, Simala, Bilelko, and Hubko.
Further destruction has been recorded in the forests surrounding Atmana village in Rajo, where fires have razed vast tracts of vegetation and severely damaged nearby olive fields, burning more than 400 olive trees.
Despite numerous appeals from local residents, Turkey-backed White Helmets teams did not respond to extinguish the fires, allowing them to spread unchecked and causing greater destruction. “These fires are being deliberately set by Turkish occupation mercenaries, threatening the region with desertification,” the evidence collecting centre stated.
The ongoing deforestation and fires have raised local concerns over the long-term environmental and economic impact on Afrin, while the deliberate acts of deforestation point to a strategy aimed at undermining the sustainability and stability of the region.
