ALEPPO, Syria — It may not be a bright idea to introduce yourself as from Turkey to people you meet in the areas controlled by the Syrian army. Alevi, Sunni or Christian, it doesn’t make a difference. They are all enraged. But I always introduced myself as a Turk in my travels from Damascus to Aleppo, from Homs to Tartus and from Latakia to Kesab. Almost everybody I met started the conversation, "We like Turkey and Turkish people,” but inevitably ended it with critical remarks against the Ankara government, particularly President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Many leveled serious charges against Turkey, including supporting terror and plundering.
I listened to a Syrian army commander in the rubble of centuries-old historic buildings in divided Aleppo say, “The basic reason for the fall of Aleppo and Idlib to armed groups is the terrorists sent from Turkey and the support Turkey gives to them.” At Sheikh Najjar Industrial City I heard even more damning accusations that may take Turkey to The Hague. Aleppo industrialists say more than 300 factories were plundered and their equipment sold in Turkey, hence their decision to settle their accounts with Turkey at the International Court of Justice.
In normal days, it takes 20 minutes to reach Sheikh Najjar from Aleppo. But as it was impossible to pass through the area controlled by the opposition militants, it took me an hour. The army checkpoint and a military outpost at the entrance of Sheikh Najjar are always standing by to prevent a repeat of the December 2012 raid by the opposition that seized the industrial city. It looks like a ghost city with hundreds of razed, burned or plundered buildings, among them the International Islamic Bank of Syria, the Bank of Syria and Overseas, and the Delil Battal yarn-spinning factory.
I met the commander at the military outpost. He explained how they took back Sheikh Najjar in July 2014. “They had occupied 80% of the factories. We launched the operation from Hanasir and fought in an area of 100 square kilometers [62 square miles]. It took us 48 hours to take back Sheikh Najjar. They destroyed most businesses by setting off their booby traps as they were fleeing." On buildings groups used as military posts during the 2012-2014 occupation, one can still see slogans of groups like Jabhat al-Nusra.
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