More than 45,000 people are active in northern Syria as fire guards in the fields. These measures seem to be having an effect in the self-governing region Shehba. The damage caused by arson has been significantly reduced.
Every day, pro-Turkish militias and the Turkish army set fire to fields in the self-governing areas of northeast Syria. In the extremely dry North Syrian region of Shehba about 90,000 original inhabitants and more than 100,000 internally displaced persons from Afrin live from agriculture. A good harvest was expected this year. However, the fires set by the invading troops hit agriculture hard.
193 hectares of agricultural land destroyed
The arsons are aimed at the displacement of the population and the expansion of the occupation zone. According to the agricultural committee of Shehba, 193 hectares of agricultural land and 3,000 olive trees have so far fallen victim to the flames. 90 hectares of fields and 2,000 olive trees were destroyed near the villages of Basilê and Bênê and 20 hectares and 1,000 olive trees near Soxanekê. In addition, the villages of Aqîbê with five hectares, Mezîn with seven hectares, Kilitê with five hectares, Hasiye with 35 hectares, Herbel with ten hectares, Babanis with nine hectares, Til Cîcan with eight hectares, Werdiye with two hectares and Tirante with also two hectares of destroyed land were affected by the arson.
The damage could be reduced by safety measures
In spite of the size of the agricultural areas and the proximity to the areas occupied by Turkey, the security measures of the autonomous administration are effective in Shehba. Thus, the damage could be minimized by quick extinguishing. Additional fire engines were provided for this purpose. Basim Osman from the Agricultural Committee says: "The measures of the Autonomous Administration play an important role in damage limitation. The majority of the fires are deliberately started by the mercenaries. Despite all this, all institutions are ready to take immediate action against the fires."
