Afrin: 7 years after the attack, resistance and changing lives 2025-01-20 15:22:05        Derya Ren   RIHA - It has been 7 years since Turkey and its gangs launched attacks on Afrin on 20 January 2018. As a result of the attacks, 683 people were killed and more than 9 thousand were abducted. Kurdish education and Syrian currency were banned. The demographic structure was changed and thousands of people were forced to migrate.   On 20 January 2018, Turkey and its paramilitary gangs, with the support of international forces, launched attacks against Afrin in Northern and Eastern Syria. President Tayyip Erdoğan's statements about Afrin on every podium at that time were like drawing a map for the attacks. The expression ‘Olive Branch’, which historically symbolises peace, was used as a cover for the attacks.   Hundreds of people lost their lives and thousands were injured in the attacks launched with 79 warplanes, thousands of soldiers and paramilitary groups. Historical artefacts in the city were destroyed, many trees, especially olive trees, were cut down, burnt and uprooted.   After the attacks, Turkey and its paramilitary groups became known for crimes such as kidnapping, torture, extortion, imprisonment and murder, especially against women.   Balance sheet for only 1 month   According to the December 2024 report of the Syrian Human Rights Organisation:   * 16 people, including 2 children, lost their lives.   *145 people, including 16 women and girls, were abducted.   *60 olive trees were cut down.   *More than 300 people disappeared.   It was also emphasised that the cases of massacre, abduction, pillage and rape increased in the attacks on Shahba on 2 December.   20 January 2018- November 2024 data   According to the Syrian Organisation for Human Rights report up to November 2024:   *683 people were killed (95 of them by torture, 101 of them women).   *10 cases of suicide and 74 cases of sexual assault were recorded.   *More than 9,65 thousand people were abducted.   *More than 400 thousand olive and forest trees were cut down.   *More than 15 thousand productive trees and one third of agricultural areas were burnt.   *More than 75 archaeological mounds, 59 historical sites and 28 religious shrines were destroyed.   The report stated that more than 30 settlements and camps were built in the city to change the demographic structure.   Evacuation decision   The 58-day resistance of YPJ-YPG forces together with the people went down in history as the ‘Resistance of the Era’. However, the Afrin Autonomous Administration decided to evacuate the city on 16 March 2018 due to the targeting of civilians.   It was stated that the number of evacuated people exceeded 300 thousand at that time, and this number increased even more in the following dates.    Demographic structure and migration   Turkey and its paramilitary groups tried to change the demographic structure of the city by settling Arabs from different regions and families of ISIS and FSA groups in Afrin.   Citizens who continued to live in the city were forced to migrate due to different pressures. According to unofficial data, the number of people brought to Afrin from outside exceeds 500 thousand, while the number of people forced to migrate from Afrin is more than 100 thousand.   After the attacks, the Syrian currency was banned in the city and the use of the Turkish lira was made compulsory instead.   Prohibition of the Kurdish language and religious persecution   Kurdish names of streets, avenues, parks and hospitals in the city were changed, Kurdish education was banned and schools affiliated to Turkey's Ministry of National Education were opened in Arabic and Turkish, and the curriculum prepared by Turkey was put into practice. While the oppression against Christians, Alawites, Assyrians and Yazidis previously living in Afrin increased, thousands of people were forced to migrate to different regions due to religious oppression.   Kidnapping and imprisonment   Many people, especially women, were kidnapped and imprisoned in Afrin, where attacks continue. The number of Afrinis kidnapped by the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation and imprisoned after being put on trial is reported to be more than 50.   HTS attacks   On 8 December 2024, following the overthrow of the Baathist regime by HTS attacks and the support of international forces, hundreds of thousands of people who fled to Shahba and Tal Rifaat in 2018 were forced to experience a second wave of displacement.