Syrian Kurds seek shelter in a cave in the Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin, northern Syria, on Feb.8, 2018, after fleeing their homes amid a Turkish military operation against Kurdish fighters. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

by Hummam Sheikh Ali

AFRIN, Syria, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- For Syrian Kurds living in Afrin near the Syrian-Turkish border, fleeing home from war is hard, but the harder part is to find a safe haven for survival.

Nature has given them a hand, as many of them now seek shelter in the mountain caves while a war rages on in the region.

Since Jan. 20, Turkish troops, together with allied Syrian rebels, have been conducting a cross-border military operation in a bid to drive the Kurdish militiamen out of Afrin.

The heavy Turkish shelling and airstrikes forced many Kurdish villagers living on the outskirts of the city of Afrin to flee, but a lot of them could only seek shelter in the mountains as they are poor and have no other places to turn to.

The mountains in the region are rich in caves, many of which belong to local residents who built their homes at the entrance, turning them into part of their homes.

But, living in the caves could be a bittersweet experience for these war refugees.

In a cave behind one home built on the entrance of a small cave, about 40 people from different families were huddling together, thanks to the generosity of the home owner.

"I have received people from different villages and we share our food and drinks with them as much as possible according to our ability," the cave owner, who only identified himself as Jamil, told Xinhua.

He said those caves could be a hard place to live in, but they provide good protection from airstrikes and a safe place for the refugees to sleep in.

"When the people, especially the small children, hear the sound of shelling reverberating from nearby villages, they would run inside the cave, which we had previously used as the stable for animals such sheep," he explained.

"You can see the remains of hay inside. We got the sheep out and let the people in," the 80-year-old man said, using a crutch to support his weak body.

Inside the cave, which is the size of a living room, people were either sitting on the ground or leaning against the rocky walls. Some of the children were heavily coughing due to the humidity and illness, while the adults were sniffling with muted weeps.

Mariam, in her early 30s, sitting on the ground while carrying a baby on her lap, complained about how suffocating it was living inside the cave.

"Our village wasn't safe due to the shelling so we sought refuge in the cave, where we are hiding from the strikes. As you can see, it's suffocating here in the cave," she said.

She and others inside the cave yearn for an end of the war so that they could return to normal life as quickly as possible.

"We hope this war would end so that we could go back to our homes for our children to live their lives and go to school and for us to carry on with our lives again," Mariam said.

Hisham, a man in his 70s, lamented that though he was too weak to endure the cold nights in the cave, he remained grateful.

"We have fled from the town of Gendares to this cave and we thank the owner for hosting us, but as you can see we are jam-packed here. We only have three or four blankets and all the kids got sick without medication or food," he said, hoping for peace to prevail again.

Muhammad, another old man, was speaking with his eyes fraught with sadness shared by his fellow cave residents.

"All of us have fled our homes to this place and we sleep here in this cave, but it's not enough for us. We have around 40 people living here with four blankets only," he said.

However, Muhammad admitted that the cave saved their lives despite the hardships inside.

"Without this cave, the cold could have killed us. Our situation is extremely tragic," he said.

In the day time, they would stay out in the sunlight to keep warm, but once they hear the sound of shelling or warplanes, they have to rush immediately inside the cave which is lit only by one light bulb.

Citing the need to protect its national security, Turkey launched the cross-border "Operation Olive Branch" in Afrin in January to oust the fighters of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), regarded by Ankara as the Syrian affiliate of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has been fighting for autonomy in the southeast of Turkey.

A recent UN report said at least 15,000 people have been displaced since the start of the Turkish military operation against Kurdish fighters in Afrin.

Syria's state news agency SANA reported recently that 142 civilians had been killed and 345 others wounded by the Turkish military offensive on Afrin. But Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denied the reports on Wednesday, insisting that there had been no civilian casualties in the Turkish operation so far.