Secretary-General of Future Syria Party: Turkey annexing Syrian territory

NORTH AND EAST SYRIA — Siham Daoud, Secretary-General of the Future Syria Party, told the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) that the problem of demographic change in the areas under Turkish occupation is a major concern. It would not be the first time Turkey had annexed a part of the country, referring to the Turkish takeover over of Hatay in 1939. Syria still disputes Turkish claims to the territory.

Daoud added that the international community has remained silent on what is happening in Afrin, international and regional reactions have not gone beyond “expressing concern” about Turkey’s intervention and occupation of Syrian territory.

Turkey and its proxies in the Syrian National Army (SNA) have committed the most heinous crimes against the people of the region including forced displacement, arbitrary arrests, harassment and assault of women and girls, and the settlement of Syrians from different areas into the homes of the displaced, said Daoud.

She also noted that Turkey continues to violate the sanctity of Yezidi holy sites and illegally excavate of destroy archaeological areas that embody the history of Afrin. It engages in the same practices in Tel Abyad and Rish Ayno (Ras al-Ayn), she added.

Ankara, through its colonial policies in Syria, seeks to reshape the region politically, socially, and militarily, said Daoud, with its ultimate goal of becoming the dominant force in the Middle East and the retaking of territories formerly controlled by the Ottoman Empire.

Daoud stressed that the international community must break its silence and put an end to Turkish interventions in Syrian affairs and the wider region.