Internally displaced people from Shehba said that some of them have been forced to leave for the third time since the beginning of the Syrian war. Nevertheless, the women interviewed are determined to resist.

On 27 November, Aleppo was handed over to the jihadist HTS mercenaries almost without a fight. Resistance continues in the self-governing Kurdish districts. The Turkish-jihadist invasion subsequently spread to Tel Rifat (Tall Refaat) and Shehba. Countless people who had already had to flee the Turkish invasion of Afrin in 2018 have now been forced to flee again since 2 December. Thousands are arriving in the self-governing regions around Tabqa and Raqqa. They spoke to ANF about what they were going through.

Three times displaced

Fatma Naso has been displaced for the third time. She comes from Aleppo and fled to Afrin at the beginning of the Syrian crisis to escape the increasing attacks by HTS's predecessor organization, Jabhat al-Nusra (al-Qaeda Syria). In 2018, she was forced to flee from Afrin to Shehba to escape the invasion of the Turkish army and jihadist mercenaries.

On 2 December, she had to flee again. She said: "We have been fleeing since the beginning of the Syrian crisis. From Aleppo to Afrin, from Afrin to Shehba, we had to leave the country where we were born and grew up. Just when I thought we could finally breathe again, I now feel like I'm back at the beginning. It's easy to say the word escape, but only we know the pain we have suffered. Only we know what pain we had to endure on these journeys."

They wanted to commit a massacre in Shehba

Fadile Reşo comes from Mahmudiye in Afrin. After the invasion in 2018, she had to flee to Shehba. Now she is on the run for the second time. She said: "We had a stable situation in Afrin. We had a house, a piece of land and shops. Our situation was also very good. We had achieved all of this through our work, our effort and our sweat. But the people of Afrin, whether women, children or the elderly, were slaughtered by fighter planes. Our electricity and water were cut off, and we were left to starve. Then we were driven out to Shehba. With great effort, we turned Shehba into a paradise. We created something from nothing. Six years is not a short time. During this time we had painful and beautiful days. But just like in Afrin, people in Shehba could not bear the fact that we were leading a good life. There were fierce attacks, and civilians in particular were the target. The mercenaries wanted to commit a massacre. Now we are fleeing again. We are currently in Raqqa. Our family is scattered. Some are in Tabqa, some in Raqqa and some are still on the way. I have no news about some of them. What kind of cruelty is this? We are experiencing this injustice and this torture just because we are Kurds. Do Kurds have no right to live on their land? Will the Kurdish people be subjected to massacres and persecution again and again? There are children and the elderly here who are in danger of freezing to death because of the cold."

How long will the suffering continue?

Muh Derwîş is from Tall Refaat. She said: "The attacks by the invading troops did not stop. They attacked us wherever we were. They had come to massacre our people. From Shehba to Raqqa, there were mercenaries everywhere. They tried to scare us. We had to endure great suffering until we reached Raqqa. We didn't know what to do.

We could imagine what awaited us. It was not the first time we have been forced to leave, but we are also human. How much longer are we supposed to suffer? We experienced moments of fear and terror among the mercenaries until we finally reached safe areas. There were ill people and children among us. Maybe we could have protected ourselves, but we were worried about our ill people and children."