On the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Afrin, representatives of Northern and Eastern Syria Autonomous Administration in South Kurdistan, representatives of the PYD, Kongra Star, Autonomous Administration, Bereya Piştevaniya bi Rojava, as well as many personalities and intellectuals, paid tribute to the martyrs of the Epochal Resistance at a memorial in  Sulaymaniyah.

Speaking on behalf of the Northern and Eastern Syria Autonomous Administration at the event, Evîn Swêd said: “More than 22 camps have been set up in 5 regions in Afrin. As a result of the demographic change, approximately 300,000 Kurds were driven from their homes and replaced by more than 500,000 mercenaries and their families, of which 30 percent are Turkmen and 5 percent Palestinian. All kinds of attacks and violations of rights were carried out during these 5 years. As a result, 663 people, including 129 women, were killed, and 8,644 people, including 243 women, were kidnapped. Of the 78 historical hills and ancient sites in the region, 59 were looted and destroyed. The Turkish state plundered the environment in Afrin. More than 367,000 olive trees were cut down, 13,500 different trees and 12,000 hectares of land were burned.”

Swêd said that the Afrin Autonomous Administration considers it its duty to liberate all the occupied regions and will continue to fight for this.

PYD South Kurdistan Representative Cavidan Kemal said that the “struggle of the Kurdish people is greater than the invasion attacks against Afrin and will prevail.”