Members of the Afrin-Syrian Human Rights Organization came together at the Serdem Camp in Shehba, where refugees from Afrin have settled after the invasion of their region in 2018.

The group held a press conference about the crimes committed by the Turkish state in Afrin since the beginning of 2023. Lawyers in Afrin and Shehba cantons and residents of Serdem Camp also attended the press conference.

Mihemed Ebdo, spokesperson of the Human Rights Organization, read the statement. Stating that the Turkish state continues its policy of changing the demographic structure in the Afrin region, Ebdo said: "The invading Turkish state systematically violates human rights by carrying out crimes such as massacres, kidnappings, violence, ransoms, confiscation of people's properties, reselling the confiscated materials in the market and plundering the environment.”

Mihemed Ebdo listed the balance sheet on rights violations and crimes since the beginning of 2023 as follows:

* 208 citizens, including 24 women and a child who was raped, were abducted.

* 13 people, including 3 women, were killed.

* More than 16,000 trees were cut down, more than a thousand trees were uprooted and more than 70 hectares of land were burned.

* Turkey demolished most of the historical places and protected areas such as Eyn Dara, Nebî Horî, Şikefta Duderî, Gora Marmaron, which are on the UNESCO world heritage list. Historical artifacts were looted and sold on world black markets.

* Changing the demographic structure and the construction of colonial houses in occupied Afrin continue with the financial support of Turkish, Gulf and Palestinian organizations. The invading Turkish state built nearly 30 colonial houses with the support and financing of Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan) associations such as Eyadî El Beyda, Kuwêt El Rehme and Binyan El Qatari.

Cultural genocide

Ebdo said: “The most dangerous of these crimes and violations is the demographic change that has reached the level of cultural genocide.”

In addition, Kurdish names of strategic places were replaced with Turkish names. The Turkish flag and Erdogan's photos were hung on every sign and everywhere in the village, district and city center.

Turkish materials are now used in schools. The Turkish flag was sewn on the students' clothes. The names of the signboards in the shops were written in Turkish.

In addition to all these racist practices, the invading Turkish state also destroyed Yazidi, Alevi and Christian religious places and temples.

Turkey wants to deprive people of the hope to return

Ebdo pointed out that the Turkish state forces and Syrian armed gang groups attack the villages and refugee camps in the Shehba region every day. He said: "The aim of the invading Turkish state is to pressure the citizens in the camps and villages, forcing them to leave the region, and deprive them of their hopes to return to their homes and lands in Afrin."

Call to the UN

Ebdo called on all international and humanitarian organizations, especially the United Nations, to fulfill their moral-political humanitarian responsibilities as well as their legal responsibilities and added: “The international organizations and the UN in particular, should put pressure on Turkey to pull out from Afrin and the occupied region of Northern Syria. Likewise, criminals should be prosecuted in international courts, and the safe return of refugees to Afrin should be guaranteed."