Syrian Kurdish officials on Monday condemned reported looting by Turkish-led forces who seized the Kurdish-majority city of Afrin the previous day.
AFP reporters in Afrin and a war monitor said Turkish-backed Syrian forces went on a rampage after taking the city, pillaging shops and homes.
The fighters broke into shops, restaurants and houses and left with foodstuff, electronic equipment, blankets and other goods, the reporters said.
They placed the loot in cars and small trucks and drove them out of the city, they added.
The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor also reported looting, saying Turkey’s Syrian allies “have begun pillaging private property, political and military sites and shops”.
The Britain-based Observatory has reported looting in several villages since pro-Ankara forces on Jan. 20 launched an assault on the wider Kurdish enclave of Afrin.
Turkish forces swept into the northwestern Syrian town on Sunday, raising their flags in the town center and declaring full control after an eight-week aggression to drive out Kurdish YPG forces.
More than 150,000 people have fled Afrin in recent days, the Syrian Observatory said, as Turkey pressed on with its campaign despite a UN Security Council call for a 30-day ceasefire across Syria.
Source: Tasnim News Agency
