Settlers assault village mayor, worker in Afrin countryside of Syria

SANAA, May 03 (YPA) – The headman of the village of “Balilko” in the countryside of Raju district, northwestern Syria, was violently attacked by settlers affiliated with the Turkish-backed factions, seriously wounding him and one of the workers who were accompanying him.

According to what Hawar News Agency reported, citing the Afrin Human Rights Organization, the attack occurred after the headman demanded that the settlers withdraw the herds of livestock from his agricultural land then they attacked him and the worker accompanying him with sticks and stones.

This incident comes in the context of what human rights reports describe as systematic violations against the indigenous population in the Afrin region.

Turkish forces and their affiliated armed factions, along with settlers settled in the area, continue to commit a series of practices aimed at oppressing the residents and forcing them to migrate.

Human rights organizations accuse these parties of seizing civilian property and practicing threats and violence against those who remain, in the absence of any effective international oversight.