Alwaght- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called on Monday for greater access to the civilian population of Afrin in light of the continued Turkish incursion on the area.
ICRC President Peter Maurer told reporters in Geneva that the credibility of the Turkish Red Crescent working in Afrin is close to zero among civilians in the area.
He said that the ICRC is helping some of the thousands of displaced civilians who have fled Afrin to villages near Aleppo, but needs regular access to Afrin, where civilians have the right to neutral and impartial aid.
Meanwhile, 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”.
On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his troops and their militant allies have entered the Syrian city of Afrin and taken control of its center after Kurdish militia pulled out.
Ankara launched the operation after the United States said it sought to create a 30,000-strong force near the Turkish border in Syria with the help of the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militant group which is mainly comprised of Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) fighters. The Turkish government regards the YPG as a Syrian offshoot of the PKK, which has been fighting for an autonomous region inside Turkey since 1984.
Turkey has threatened to expand its operation as far as the nearby city of Manbij, where American forces are stationed.
