Afrin begins registering Arab families, cementing demographic change
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Arab families who moved to the northwest Syrian canton of Afrin after its fall to Turkish-backed militants last year are being granted official residency, angering Kurds who fear its Kurdish identity could be lost.
“After the people of Sharqiya region fled to liberated areas in the north, their identity cards were lost, they left them behind, or they were burnt due to shelling. They have no alternative papers,” Anas al-Tabn, who supervises the registration of al-Bab’s displaced, told the pro-opposition newspaper Enab Baladi on Sunday.
A thousand Arab families have moved from Sharqia in al-Bab since Turkish-backed Syrian militias took over Afrin in March 2018, the paper said.
“A large number of adults are without identity card. This complicates their affairs in terms of mobility and housing. The new marriages are not registered in the Sharia courts, and their children are not registered at any point,” al-Tabn added.
Chieftains, or Mukhtars, have been appointed by local government to run the process since they have experience and are known by local people, the paper reports.
The newly-established office has the authority to issue or revoke IDs and marriage and birth certificates.
A lawyer from Afrin, who spoke to Rudaw on condition of anonymity, said the IDs are invalid, as Afrin is part of Syria and the regime has control over official documentation.
The scheme would only work if Turkey ties Afrin to itself administratively, he said.
The process will change the demography of the region, he said. A larger Arab population is likely to form a majority in the city’s local council elections.
Human rights activists told Rudaw this will likely endanger the property rights of Afrin people who have fled the city. Their homes and businesses have been looted or occupied by newcomers.
They also warn that once the newcomers are registered, it will be difficult for the people of Afrin to return home.
Ankara believes the YPG are tied to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – an armed group fighting for greater cultural and political rights for Kurds in Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is threatening to launch a fresh offensive against the YPG east of the Euphrates.
International observers and the Syrian regime condemned but failed to act against Turkey’s Afrin operation, which destabilized a relatively peaceful part of Syria. UN reports found Afrin suffered mass displacement, looting, and lawlessness as a result of the operation.
“After the people of Sharqiya region fled to liberated areas in the north, their identity cards were lost, they left them behind, or they were burnt due to shelling. They have no alternative papers,” Anas al-Tabn, who supervises the registration of al-Bab’s displaced, told the pro-opposition newspaper Enab Baladi on Sunday.
A thousand Arab families have moved from Sharqia in al-Bab since Turkish-backed Syrian militias took over Afrin in March 2018, the paper said.
“A large number of adults are without identity card. This complicates their affairs in terms of mobility and housing. The new marriages are not registered in the Sharia courts, and their children are not registered at any point,” al-Tabn added.
Chieftains, or Mukhtars, have been appointed by local government to run the process since they have experience and are known by local people, the paper reports.
The newly-established office has the authority to issue or revoke IDs and marriage and birth certificates.
A lawyer from Afrin, who spoke to Rudaw on condition of anonymity, said the IDs are invalid, as Afrin is part of Syria and the regime has control over official documentation.
The scheme would only work if Turkey ties Afrin to itself administratively, he said.
The process will change the demography of the region, he said. A larger Arab population is likely to form a majority in the city’s local council elections.
Human rights activists told Rudaw this will likely endanger the property rights of Afrin people who have fled the city. Their homes and businesses have been looted or occupied by newcomers.
They also warn that once the newcomers are registered, it will be difficult for the people of Afrin to return home.
Turkey and its Syrian opposition proxies seized Afrin in an offensive launched January 20, concluding with the capture of Afrin city on March 18. The stated aim of Operation Olive Branch was the removal of the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) from the Turkish border.
Ankara believes the YPG are tied to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – an armed group fighting for greater cultural and political rights for Kurds in Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is threatening to launch a fresh offensive against the YPG east of the Euphrates.
International observers and the Syrian regime condemned but failed to act against Turkey’s Afrin operation, which destabilized a relatively peaceful part of Syria. UN reports found Afrin suffered mass displacement, looting, and lawlessness as a result of the operation.