Since yesterday, the Shehba region has been taken over by Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) factions, in an opportunistic attack which has resulted in the expulsion of many of the tens of thousands of Kurdish and other refugees living in the region.

The assault followed the advance of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) against the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) which caused Russian forces to withdraw from the isolated region. The exclave was formerly under the governance of the DAANES...

but divided from the main territories under long-term DAANES control. The Afrin and Shehba Peoples’ Council made a statement saying that "in order not to expose the population to massacres, they decided to leave of their own free will."