Turkish state seeks to expand its occupation zones in Syria

In a statement on the fourth anniversary of the occupation of Serekaniye and Gire Spi, the Serekaniye Migrants Committee announced that the Turkish state wants to expand the occupied territories. According to the statement, the Turkish state and its proxy forces continue to commit inhuman crimes against the people in the occupied areas of Gire Spi and Serekaniye, such as kidnapping, harassment, rape, extortion, ransom and murder as part of the policy of changing the demographic structure.

Noting that the Kurdish, Arab, Assyrian, Chaldean, Yezidi, Chechen, Circassian, Turkmen and Armenian communities in the two regions are living in camps and towns in northern and eastern Syria under harsh conditions of displacement, the Committee stressed that many local and national parties support the Turkish state’s occupation of the region.

The statement continued: “The refugees have been waiting for a fair international decision to restore their violated rights and their land. The international community knows the whole truth as it has repeatedly documented the violations of the occupiers in the region”. The statement also noted that on the anniversary of the Serekaniye invasion, the Turkish state has intensified its attacks and is trying to extend the occupation by forcibly displacing the people of the region.

In order to ensure international peace and security and to protect civilians, the international community must fulfil its responsibility to end the occupation in the region and return the refugees to their lands, the statement concluded, recalling that the withdrawal of the Turkish state from the Syrian territories will be the beginning of the peace process in Syria.