Turkish forces had destroyed the historical al-Sahlan hilltop in the northern Raqqa countryside, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on September 2.
The hilltop, which was dating back to 2000 BC, is located west of the town of Tell Abyad on the Turkish border. The hilltop overlooks vast areas around the town.
According to the London-based monitoring group, the Turkish military and its proxies destroyed the hilltop in order to establish a new base there as well as to loot any remains or artifacts that were left at the historical site.
The Hawar News Agency shared a video showing Turkish bulldozers sweeping and digging the hilltop, which confirms the SOHR’s report.
Turkish-backed militants are infamous for criminal activities. Last week, the militants took down electricity towers in northern al-Hasakah in order to sell them as scrap metal in Turkey.
The Turkish military, which usually turns a blind eye to the militants’ actoins, was apparently involved in the destruction of al-Sahlan hilltop. This is a new escalation by Ankara, which is working for a lasting military presence in Syria, especially in the northeastern region.
Every hill top can be bombed. The more compact they are the better. If things go wrong at least their GPS-GLONAS address is clear
Smells like fake news. Nothing here https://www.syriahr.com/en/
PKK/PYD/SDF propaganda. ENKS Kurds supported by Turkey & Northern Iraqi Kurdish Admin Barzani say nothing about that story.