MSDOn March 18th marks the sixth anniversary of the occupation of the Afrin region, where the ongoing Turkish occupation and its affiliated factions persist their aggression against the indigenous Kurdish citizens. Also, these factions have carried out crimes of genocide in Afrin, Ras al-Ain, Tel Abyad, and other occupied areas in northern Syria.
Turkey has employed all tools of violence and criminality to suppress the heroic resistance that endured for 58 days by the residents of Afrin. This resistance still persists rejecting the model of oppression that Turkey seeks to establish. Through terrorism, extremism, internal strife, security instability, and rampant corruption, Turkey’s actions stand in stark contrast to the aspirations of the Syrian Revolution.
Turkey and its terrorist factions have resorted to the most brutal and heinous methods against the Kurdish population in the region. These methods include murder, abduction, rape, and forced disappearances. More than 250,000 individuals have been displaced, and families of armed militants and imported settlers from other governorates have been resettled in the region. Under the guise of humanitarian slogans, Turkey has funded the establishment of settlement villages through regional states involved in changing the region’s demography.
The Turkish occupation practices genocide and ethnic cleansing blatantly. All evidence and information reported by sources in Afrin confirm that Turkey is engaged in genocide. Recently, a report by Human Rights Watch has described the Turkey’s presence in Syrian territories as an occupation.
The martyrdom of the child Ahmad Khaled Madeh came at the hands of one of the criminals who were settled by Turkey in Jindires. The popular outrage clearly expressed the rejection of the Turkey’s projects by indigenous citizens. Also, that outrage reaffirmed their determination to resist and reject the imposed reality.
The Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) condemns the ongoing Turkish occupation and its practices in Afrin and other occupied areas in northern Syria. It calls upon the international community, represented by the UN Security Council and the European Union, and specifically the League of Arab States, to take procedures and work towards ending the Turkish occupation and expelling the factions affiliated with Turkey. Turkey’s continued policies pose a threat to peace and security in Syria.
We, as members of the SDC, also urge the Syrian people and democratic powers to eliminate Turkey’s expansionist ambitions and prevent the division of the country. We should unite, overcome our differences, recognize the sacrifices made by the Syrian people for their freedom and independence. We urge the steadfastness and resistance demonstrated by the residents of occupied Afrin, who have become a symbol in the face of injustice and occupation.
On March 17, 2024
Syrian Democratic Council
