A human rights organization reveals the reality of the Turkish settlement projects in Jabal Al-Alam. On Wednesday, 8/6/2022, Syrians for Truth and Justice published a report entitled Residential Communities in Afrin: Demographic Engineering Schemes or Projects to Accommodate Displaced Persons? The report dealt with the housing projects carried out by the Turkish occupation authorities and their militias on Mount Dreams, which is part of a mountainous mass known as Mount Leylon. From local and international relief organizations and the local council of Afrin city, to start building and serving the gathering at the foot of the mountain, after a group of militias, led by the “Syrian Front” presented the idea of ​​the project to the Turkish authorities.

The role of some organizations has gone beyond “providing public services” to the families of fighters, to building entire villages, in order to give a civilian character to the project, which is primarily intended for housing fighters and their families and donors from Kuwait, according to the Sham Al-Khair Humanitarian Association, which implemented the settlement project. On large areas in the Mountain of Dreams” in early 2021, and it continues until the date of the completion of preparing the report at the end of April 2022, and it is planned to extend to include the entire mountain.. Information obtained by Syrians for the purpose of this report also revealed that nine militias It is affiliated with the Syrian National Army of the Syrian opposition coalition, and is mainly involved in this project, led by the Levant Front, led by Muhannad Al-Khalaf, better known as Ahmad Nour. The clerics/legislators of the militias played a large role by enticing the militants to subscribe, to divide the region, and later to distribute the land.

The Syrian Center for Justice and Accountability noted last year that with regard to settlements elsewhere in Afrin, such as Kuyt al-Rahma settlement, private donors and aid organizations, as well as their own governments, should ensure that aid is distributed equitably and in a manner that does not infringe on property rights and the return of civilian populations. IDPs. Most importantly, the Turkish government, as the occupying power and exercising effective control in Afrin and other parts of northwest Syria, is directly responsible for the violations and issues involved in the settlements thus far. The report stated that Muhannad Al-Khalaf (Abu Ahmed Nour), leader of the Levant Front militia, was the one who took the initiative to adopt the settlement project in “Mountain of Dreams. The project was well received by the militia leaders.

Syrians for Truth and Justice contacted a person who attended the meetings organized by Khalaf, and withheld his name for security reasons, and he said in his testimony: “In November 2020, Abu Ahmed Nour, the leader of Shamiya, called for the meeting that was held in the city of Afrin and told them that a vast land was under the influence of the front. Shamiya and expands to build homes for all militia fighters in Afrin, even civilians.”

The witness continued: “Al-Khalaf said: The project faces obstacles and we must cooperate together to achieve it, the most important of which is obtaining a building permit from the Afrin Local Council.

Regarding the obstacles, he said: It was necessary to give the project a civil character to persuade local and international organizations to contribute to the construction without being exposed to problems and pressures.

After the meetings were completed, the legitimate “Mohammed al-Khatib” in the “Syrian Front” militia was assigned to manage the project’s organizational file, and al-Khatib is a member of the Committee for the Restitution of Rights and the Syrian Islamic Council and the director of moral guidance in the Third Corps. The so-called al-Khatib asked the displaced to benefit from the project by dividing themselves into groups According to the region they come from, and a representative for each group was identified, then he established a general committee to coordinate between the representatives of these groups and the militia representative on the project.

A second source who attended the meetings organized by the so-called al-Khatib said: Sheikh Muhammad al-Khatib met with many people and I was present in those meetings, and during these meetings he asked us to register the names of those who wish to benefit from this project, whether they are civilians or fighters within militias and divide them into groups, each according to his city Choosing a representative for each group or bloc, and thus the blocs were created. Each bloc ranged from 20-200 families, and this was applied to all other governorates.

The organization said that it had learned that until March 2022, at least 600 armed men and their families had moved to a residential complex in the “Jabal Al-Ahlam” area, and they mainly belonged to the “Hamzat” and “Shamiya Front” militias.