HATAY - Kurdish villagers in Kırıkhan that were badly effected by the Afrin operation, drawing attention to the possible spreading of the war, wanted the attack on Syria to be stopped.
The military personnel and concentration intensified at Reyhanlı, Hassa and Kumlu districts. It is reported that military personnel, ammunition and armoured vehicles will be downranged from Kilis and Hatay to El Bab, Azez and Urfa. Measures are increased at the police stations on the border line. Local sources say 'TSK shifted most of their forces from Hatay border to Urfa. Soldiers gathered here are sent to hot war zone.'
Unrest in the city centers prevails. Citizens living in border villages of Kırıkhan and Reyhanlı districts who were most affected in Afrin operation are worried about this operation. Demirkonak, Camızkışlası, İncirli and Yalangoz villagers and the border villages of Kırıkhan, stated that they are most affected by the war and that this policy should be ended. The villagers, who can go to their lands on the border line with permission, work under the supervision of soldiers.
Describing the tense wait on the border line, a peasant, "There are unexploded ordnance in the area. We all have IDs and information available at the police station. They do not leave anyone outside the border line except for us. People are afraid to talk in case something bad happens to their relatives cross the border. We saw the attack on Afrin. Even our animals were affected by this war.We don't want this war.
People's Democratic Party (HDP) Kırıkhan District Co-chair Şefika Dolaşkan, stating that the villagers living at the borders are Kurdish, and recalling that they were the ones most effected by the war, said: "People are scared the same things will happen just like it did at the previous operation."
'MOM, WILL THERE BE A WAR AGAIN?'
Dolaşkan emphasizing that border villages like Demirkonak, Camızkışlası, İncirli and Yalangoz are most effected by this process, said: "We can hear the sounds of the bombs clearly. Missiles are falling into the villages. We don't want the same thing happening this year just like the last year.The war will create a new wave of migration.Our animals got sick because of the war last year, our fields have gone infertile. Many farmers had to sell their lands and their animals due to the shortage of livelyhood caused by war. Because Kurdish people lives in these villages, no humanitary aid came. Our children are scared of the mobility at the border, they ask if there will be a war again. We want Turkey to abandon these war policies. The government knows the consequences of this war very well, but they don't care. Nothing ever happens to them. We live through the consequences of the wars.