FİDAN ABDULLAH

Shahba- The Shahba/Afrin canton of North and East Syria has been targeted by the Turkish attacks since Afrin was occupied by the Turkish state and Turkish-backed factions on March 18, 2018. The displaced people of Afrin keep resisting the Turkish attacks on the canton. In addition to the ongoing Turkish attacks, the people living in Shahba/Afrin canton resist the siege imposed by the Damascus government (Syrian government).

“The Turkish state has carried out its attacks on the canton for six years,” said the women of Afrin and Shahba living in the canton. “We will respond to the occupation attacks with our resistance.”

 ‘The aim is to displace people’

Lamia Şeixo, one of the women living in the canton, pointed to the massacres conducted by the Turkish state in North and East Syria. “The Turkish state has occupied many cities such as Idlib, Azaz, Afrin and Girê Spî (Tell Abyad). The Turkish state wants to complete its colonial project by occupying many cities with international support. It maintains its attacks aiming to displace people from their homelands.”

Rokhash Ali reacted to the Turkish attacks on the Shahba/Afrin canton and said, “We suffer from the ongoing Turkish airstrikes. Children are in fear due to the ongoing Turkish airstrikes. The Turkish warplanes target civilian infrastructure and agricultural lands.”

‘These lands are the lands of our ancestors’

Şamiya Raşid condemned the Turkish attacks on the Shahba/Afrin canton. “We condemn the barbaric Turkish attacks on the canton. These lands are the lands of our ancestors and we will never allow our lands to be occupied. We want to ensure the security and peace for the people of the region. We will liberate all places occupied by the Turkish state to ensure the security and peace in our region.”