The burglar stole food, drinks, olive oil, and other items inside the house of Aisha Ali Bilal, an 80-year-old widow living alone in Afrin’s Chanchaliya village.
A source from the village, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Rudaw that the robbery was committed by one of Bilal’s neighbors -reportedly named Abu Hadid- who has been previously accused of cutting down olive trees belonging to the people of the village.
"There are four settler families who hail from Ghouta living in the village. They graze livestock in the middle of the olive fields and cut down trees without any consequence or repercussion. They also steal whatever comes under their sight of agricultural tools and devices, household equipment, and food supplies from the houses in cooperation with the thieves in Little Chakhmaq village,” read a statement from the Human Rights Organsation in Afrin regarding the incident
The suspect has reportedly evaded arrest by fleeing the area.
“I condemn the acts of the Syrian opposition forces in Afrin which practice gang work and carry out theft and killing in the areas of Afrin,” Rashid Ali, a legal expert from Chanchaliya, told Rudaw on Wednesday, adding that these practices are “outside the humanitarian and human rights framework.”
Ali called on the international community to “expel the armed factions from Afrin.”
Afrin is a Kurdish city which was invaded by Turkey and its Syrian mercenaries after they launched a military operation against Kurdish fighters in January 2018. Since then, the members of the pro-Turkey groups have been accused of violating the rights of Kurds as well as cutting olive trees of Kurdish farmers.
Human rights groups and the United Nations have published reports detailing arbitrary arrests, detention and pillaging, among other violations.
