During a recent visit to Syria and the city of Afrin, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu referred to the deaths of Turkish soldiers in Syria, arguing that the Turkish nation owes its existence to these coffins wrapped in the Turkish flag.
His statement provoked strong reactions from the opposition, which reminded him that the Turkish nation had emerged in the battles of Gallipoli and the "War of Independence" and not in Afrin. But at the same time, this statement shows the special charge that the issue of Syria has for the government of Recep Tayyip Ernog.
We remind you that Afrin is a predominantly Kurdish area that came under the control of the Kurdish militia (YPG) after 2012. Turkish forces will occupy it in 2018 during their second large-scale invasion of Syrian territory, Operation Branch Ελαίας ». It was preceded by the "Operation Shield of the Euphrates" in 2016 and will be followed in 2019 by the "Operation Spring Source" to ensure a "security zone" on Syrian soil. The result is that Turkey now has a significant presence on Syrian soil, from the Idlib enclave to Afrin and northeastern Syria.
Turkey's main ally on Syrian territory is the "Syrian National Army", in fact a coalition of armed Islamic groups, mainly Arabs from various parts of Syria but also with a strong presence of Syrian Turks. 
Rape and kidnapping by Turkey's allies
A recent report on the Al-Monitor website contains several testimonies of the activities of these groups. One of them refers to the treatment of Kurdish women from Afrin when Turkish forces occupied the area along with armed groups such as the Sultan Murad Brigade, which belongs to the Syrian National Army and is openly supported by Turkey. The testimony refers to ill-treatment, beatings and rapes of women prisoners that resulted in a significant number of suicides.
A recent UN Human Rights Council report on the situation in Syria reports a significant number of human rights violations by members of the Syrian National Army. The report notes that the "power vacuum" created by the expulsion of Kurdish militia forces from Afrin has led to arrests, beatings, kidnappings and in some cases disappearances. Arrests were often accompanied by confiscation of property or animals in their possession. The detainees reported frequent and brutal beatings and torture in order to confess to having links to the previous Kurdish administration in the area. According to the report, during their detention by the Syrian National Army, women of Kurdish origin and Yazidis were victims of rape and other forms of humiliating and abusive behavior.
Turkish-backed militant groups are still embroiled in incidents such as the assassination of Kurdish politician Hebrin Khalaf by Turkish-backed militants on Syrian soil in 2019. Its execution was one of the few that the Syrian National Army and judged.
These armed groups have also collaborated with Turkey on the arrest and detention of Syrian Kurds, many of whom are then transferred to Turkish territory where they are often convicted without evidence of "terrorist activity".
Recruitment of child soldier soldiers to fight in Libya
In 2020, a report was published claiming that in the areas of Syria controlled by the pro-Turkish organizations participating in the Syrian National Army, children of soldiers were being recruited and that such recruited child soldiers, aged 15-16, were among the Syrians who moved, with the help of Turkey to Libya to fight as mercenaries on the side of the Tripoli Government, which was supported by Ankara. Recall that recently, the United States for the first time included Turkey in the countries involved in the recruitment of child soldiers.
Despite the large number of allegations against organizations it supports on Syrian soil, Turkey is using its presence there to claim that it is a bulwark against millions of Syrians defending the Assad government's moves. This can be seen from the way the major Western media portrays the situation, reproducing the narrative that Turkey is protecting civilians there from the Assad government's aggressive dispositions.
Involvement in the drug trade
On May 21, there was a serious incident on the Turkish border with Syria. Hundreds of Syrians have reportedly opened fire on a concrete wall on the border and attacked a Turkish border post in Hatay's Reyhanl. District. Some have blamed the May 15 seizure of more than a tonne of $ 37 million worth of Captagon pills in Alexandria port on May XNUMX, which authorities said were destined for the United Arab Emirates. There is ample evidence that Turkish-backed armed groups are involved in the drug trade. 
The warlords and olive oil
Mohammed Jassem, also known as Abu Amsa, is the commander of the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade, which belongs to the Syrian National Army. With a strong presence on twitter, he has a strongly pro-Turkish attitude and at the same time reproduces the anti-Kurdish rhetoric of Turkey.
At the same time he has formed a small manor under control in a part of Afrin. It is largely uncoordinated with the Syrian National Army but mainly with the Turkish services.
This manor also means important sources of income for Jasem. From the tolls he collects from the cars that pass through the checkpoints he controls, to the olive oil.
At first, his gunmen cut down the olive trees of mainly Kurdish growers and sold them. However, they gradually began to grow olive trees in confiscated areas. The olive oil produced is sold through intermediaries to the Central Union of Cooperatives of Turkey, which exports it. It is estimated that most of Afrin's annual olive oil production, which reaches 30.000 tonnes, ends up in Turkey and becomes a "Turkish product".
in.gr