NORTH & EAST SYRIA: Turkish-backed factions continue setting fire to agricultural land, fighting one another
NORTH AND EAST SYRIA — Villages in the Khabur Valley north of al-Hasakah witnessed violent clashes between Turkish-backed factions, resulting in the burning of agricultural land near the areas of the clashes and in the villages around Darbasiyah.
Aram Hasakah of the Syriac Military Council (MFS) told SyriacPress: “Last night witnessed violent internal clashes between the factions affiliated with Turkey in the villages of Amiriya and Lilan which are located on the M4 highway. Clashes erupt from time to time in those areas. The recent clashes led to a state of panic and terror among local civilians, especially those who were travelling or walking on the newly opened and crowded M4 highway. These clashes also led to fires in many agricultural lands near the M4 highway, on land of the villages of the Khabur valley and at Abo Rasayn front line,” said Aram.
He indicated that firefighters, locals and the Syriac Military Council, which is mobilized in and has taken up the defense of the Khabur valley, worked together to extinguish the fires and providing assistance to the firefighting teams. “Our forces have been mobilizing in case of any potential urgent case that requires our intervention,” he added.
Sources on the ground from Tal Tamr said that the armed Turkish-backed factions set fire to agricultural lands in several villages, including the village of al-Arisha, 20 km southeast of Rish Ayno (Ras al-Ayn). Fire expanded to agricultural fields in the village of Tawila and devoured large areas of crops, reaching the houses and property of the residents.
Fires also broke out in large areas of the agricultural land in the villages around the town of al-Darbasiyah, north of al-Hasakah and burned nearly 40,000 hectares.
In related news, there are accusations that Turkey continues usurping barley and wheat crops from the areas under Turkish control and the factions it backs. the Turkish Independent website reported that one of the truck drivers transporting barley crop from Syria to Turkey, said that they have been working for nearly two months on transporting crops from Tel Abyad to Turkey and storing it in silos of the Agricultural Products Office in Turkey.