The town of Çilaxa in Cizire Canton welcomed 82 displaced families from Shehba following attacks by Turkish occupation mercenaries. The town council prepared the Martyr Hussein Ibrahim School as a temporary shelter for the displaced families.

The IDPs call for unity and struggle despite the pain they have suffered. Amidst the devastating effects of the occupation attacks on the people, the people of Afrin-Shehba are determined to protect their identity, existence and land.

A reporter from ANHA agency interviewed several displaced individuals who shared accounts of the Turkish occupation’s brutality and their appeals for solidarity and perseverance in facing the occupiers.

Şêxmûs Îzet, a resident of the village of Basuta in occupied Afrin, was first displaced in 2018 to Shehba but later settled in Çilaxa after Turkish-backed mercenaries attacked Shehba.

He stated: "Our resistance in Afrin during 2018 lasted for 58 days despite relentless airstrikes by Turkish warplanes. We resisted in Shehba for seven years, enduring the hardships of displacement because of our unwavering hope to return to Afrin and expel the occupiers."

Şêxmûs Îzet detailed their second displacement journey, recounting the horrors and crimes they witnessed, stating: "On the road, we saw the bodies of civilians killed by the mercenaries. We also suffered verbal abuse and psychological torture."

"In Tel Rifaat, mercenaries killed civilians and tied their bodies to vehicles, dragging them around the city square while declaring, ‘This is the fate of every Kurd,’ and shouting, ‘Leave this place; everything you own is now ours," he added.

Şêxmûs Îzet emphasized, "Their goal is to annihilate our people, but they will not succeed. We will continue to resist and fight for our return to Afrin. Afrin is our identity and our very existence. We will struggle to protect this identity and achieve our aspirations.''

Ebdulezîz Kamîran, a displaced student who was studying at the Kurdish Language Institute, vowed to continue his education as a form of resistance and steadfastness against the mercenaries.

"Since the occupation of Afrin, we have been fighting to preserve our identity and our nationhood. We have sacrificed and endured much but have never surrendered or bowed to the savagery of the Turkish occupation and its mercenaries, who aim to obliterate our people and alter the demographics of our homeland," he said.

Another displaced civilian, Wefa Şaman, said that they will not forget the crimes committed by the gangs of the Turkish state and said:

“Our vehicle broke down on the way and the gangs blocked us. Then we had to continue on foot towards Tabqa and Raqa. We will never forget the atrocities committed by the occupiers. We will continue our struggle until we return to our lands.”