Syrian civilization vs. Erdogan’s barbarism: Ankara’s factions seize antiquities in Aleppo, Afrin

Mustafa Kamel

Militant factions loyal to Ankara have spared no effort to continue their criminal acts against Syrian civilians, especially in the province of Aleppo, which has many factions supported by Turkey. Most recently, they excavated and searched for antiquities in various areas located in the countryside of Afrin, northwest of Aleppo. This comes after the successive attacks by the Sultan Murad Division and pro-Ankara factions on the homes of civilians, taking them out of the homes in order to seize their contents and sell them for pure profit. Many safe houses have also been demolished due to their rejection to the Turkish presence.

Excavation of antiquities

The pro-Ankara factions have been searching for antiquities in various regions in the countryside of Afrin, seeking to trade them to provide money. These factions brought bulldozers a week ago to dig an archeological hill located on the outskirts of Afrin. In the middle of March, they brought Turkish equipment, devices and machinery with the aim of excavating for tombs and monuments.

However, these thefts were not the first, as they were preceded by several thefts that Ankara sought with the intention of erasing the region’s history by resorting to excavating and selling antiquities in Turkey. Excavators then use the proceeds from the sale of antiquities to finance the militant factions. In August 2019, members of the Sultan Murad Division began digging in the Bulbul district of Afrin in search of antiquities.

The Ottoman mercenaries in Afrin also excavated for antiquities in the area Cyrrhus, which is located in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border. The region, also known as Nabi Huri, dates back several ancient civilizations to the Hellenistic period in 280 BCE. It has been subjected to systematic violations at the hands of the pro-Turkish factions. The violent Turkish bombardment started in January 2018, and then the factions took control of the region and began a massive looting and vandalism campaign.

Continuous violations

Ankara’s factions have continued to attack Syrian civilians in the area, and they have not stopped cutting down cypress and oak trees and stealing perennial olive trees to be shipped to Turkey. The Sultan Murad Division has been attacking the homes of citizens in Afrin and assaulting the women.

North of Raqqa, pro-Turkish militants began demolishing homes of residents who reject the Turkish presence in their area, leaving the fate of these people to remain homeless in the neighboring camps.

This comes at a time when Turkish forces brought logistical reinforcements to their locations within the de-escalation zone, with trucks carrying cement blocks and logistical equipment through the border crossing. Since the new ceasefire began, about 2,340 vehicles have been deployed to the area, in addition to thousands of soldiers.