Turning northern Syria Turkish: Ankara changes names of the streets in Syria’s Suran

Sarah Rashad

The local council of the city of Suran, northeast of the Syrian province of Aleppo, published pictures of street signs that Turkey changed their original names, into others written in Turkish and Arabic.

The council explained that the move was made by the Turkish state of Kilis, which was commissioned by Ankara to take over the affairs of the city of Suran, considering that the change of names and its registration in Turkish is a step of trying to turn into Turkish areas under the control of Turkey in northern Syria.

The north of Syria is one of the most important goals that prompted Ankara to intervene in the Syrian scene eight years ago, and strengthen the option of armed confrontations between the state and its opponents, as it pushed Turkey to war to allow it to impose control over the Syrian north.

The Syrian north, specifically the border area, embraces the historical existence of the Kurds, who dream of establishing an independent Kurdish state between Turkey, Syria and Iraq. To eradicate that presence, Turkey maintains its control over the Syrian north to thwart any Kurdish move.

While the city of Idlib, north-west of Syria, wason the outskirts of a military operation by the Syrian regime and its Russian ally to eliminate the armed factions controlling the city, including those that are Turkish-backed, Ankara intervened in Moscow to persuade the text of the agreement signed on Monday September 17, the Sochi Agreement, which has prevented any military intervention, at least so far.

According to this agreement, Ankara is now focusing on the Syrian north, as it moved towards more control over it, including the change of the names of the streets and recording them in Turkish.