The Turkish state and their allied gang groups targeted Afrin’s historic sites after they occupied the city. Afrin Historic Artifacts Directorate Co-president Hemid Nasir  said the Turkish army and their allied gangs have engaged in rights violations since day one.

Nasir said all historic sites and artifacts in Afrin had been documented before the invasion attacks: “We have also documented the state of several historic sites after the Turkish occupation. We documented the artifacts smuggled into Turkey too.”

Nasir said they shared with the public the state of historic artifacts in Afrin before and after the invasion with an exhibition in Shehba to showcase the extent of the damage. Nasir said there is extremely high levels of damage and smuggling in the city and added that the full extent is still unknown due to the Turkish state preventing passage for independent bodies into the region.

Nasir said they aim to show the whole world the damage done to Afrin’s historic sites with the exhibition and said an international committee is needed to monitor the damage done in Afrin.