Displaced people of Afrin protest in front of Russian base

Yesterday, thousands of displaced people from Afrin marched to a Russian base in the northern Syrian canton of Shehba and called on Russia to break its silence on the Turkish occupation of Afrin. Russia had enabled Turkey to occupy the canton.

The cooperation between Russia and Turkey played a crucial role in the occupation of the northern Syrian canton of Afrin, the expulsion of over one hundred thousand people and the establishment of a Turkish-Jihadist occupation regime in the region. Without the consent of Russia and the opening up of airspace for Turkish warplanes, the occupation of the region by Turkey and its jihadist allies would not have been possible. Even after the establishment of a reign of terror by jihadists, collaborators and Turkish soldiers, Russia has not broken its silence on occupation.

Therefore, four days ago, many refugees from Afrin and families of martyrs marched to the Russian base in the self-governing canton of Shehba near the village of Wahshiya and filed a resolution demanding that the Russian government take action regarding the occupation Afrin. As they did not receive an answer, thousands of people marched yesterday to the Russian "Communication Center" in Afrin-Sherawa. 

The mass was not deterred by the heavy rains and chanted "Afrin to the people of Afrin", "Killer Erdoğan", "No to international silence" and "Invaders out!". They carried banners with inscriptions like "No to Silence to the Occupation of Northern Syria by Turkey" and pictures of the martyrs.

A five-member delegation of Relatives of Martyrs met with the Russian leaders of the center. The closed-door meeting lasted over an hour. Subsequently, Şezye Ibrahim, mother of two martyrs and a member of the Committee on Social Justice, made a statement.

She criticized that the Russian officials had given no response to their demands and merely pledged to forward the demands to their superiors. According to Şezye Ibrahim, the delegation stated at the meeting that, unless Russia answered, they would appeal the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the international coalition for the liberation of Afrin. She stressed that their actions against the division of Syria and the occupation of Afrin will continue.