Syrian Democratic Council (MSD) organised a demonstration in Afrin’s Sherawa district in protest at the Turkish state’s occupation attacks against Afrin that began on 20 January 2018.

Hundreds of people from Afrin joined the demonstration where 72 children wore white dress with an inscription “We are coming, Afrin”, referring to the 72 fighter jets of the Turkish state that committed a massacre against civilians in the city.

The protest march kicked off from the village of Ziyaret and turned into a rally at the Vegerê Camp where MSD Afrin and Shehba Cantons Bureau Co-president Şêrin Qaso read the press statement which said the following:

“During the 9 years of Syrian war, the Turkish state, in cooperation with the mercenaries in Syria, have invaded parts of the country from Afrin to Serekaniye and Gire Spi, from Azaz to Jarablus and al-Bab.

With all kinds of heavy weapons and the so-called Syrian National Army, the Turkish state launched brutal attacks against Afrin on 20 January 2018. The attacks by land and air claimed the lives of hundreds of people and forcibly displaced hundreds of thousands. In an attempt to change the demography of the region, the Turkish state drives the local population into flight and settles other people in Afrin. They are changing the Kurdish and Arabic names of villages into Turkish, naming parks and squares after ‘Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’. They are using Turkish Lira and imposing Turkish language at schools.

The Turkish state has pursued certain goals against the region since the very beginning. The AKP government wants to revive the Ottoman Empire and does anything possible to this end.

We in the MSD condemn the attacks against our people. We call on the international community, the Security Council, human rights organisations, the international coalition and Russia to stop Turkey’s attacks against Afrin and to ensure a safe return home for the people of Afrin. We also call on the people of Syria to unite.”

“WE WILL STOP THE INVASION”

Speaking after, Recep Mistefa from Afrin Region Council of Martyrs’ Families denounced Turkey’s occupation attacks and ongoing violations against the people of Afrin.

Shehba Canton Council member Ebdo Ehmed remembered those who fell in the Resistance of the Age in Afrin.

Xelil Reşo in the name of the notables in the Afrin Canton said; “The unity of Syrian people will pave the way for the liberation of the occupied territories. We will stop the invasion.”