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Thread: Two videos were published today showing two transportation trucks parked on the side of the road allegedly carrying olive oil from Afrin into Turkey (1/10) https://twitter.com/ChelengOmer/status/1334108019022499842
This comes a day after another video was published showing a massive amount of oil collected at a facility in Afrin, geolocated near the town of Cindirês. very rough estimation points to there being at least 50,000 tins visible in the video. (2/10) https://twitter.com/AKMcKeever/status/1333472148657217544?s=20
As highlighted in a recent article by @matthew_petti, Afrin's olive wealth has been exploited by Turkish-backed factions that occupying the region since early 2018. Shady actions by a host of actors has seen some of this oil enter US and EU markets.(3/10) https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-olive-oil-in-your-local-store-may-be-funding-syrian-warlords
Comparing some of the clues in the each of the videos - license plates and electrical infrastructure nearby - show that these show the same trucks in the same location, filmed from opposite directions (4/10)
The license plates - '27 HC 437' & '27 AHB 763' show both of them to be registered in the province of Gaziantep. The trucks also each have a banner hanging on the front of the cabs, appearing to have some sort of state insignia (5/10)
Only the cargo of the rear truck is visible, but it clearly carries stacks of small containers matching those seen in yesterday's video of the Afrin olive oil facility. (6/10)
Geolocation shows the videos to have been filmed on a road in Hatay's Kumlu district (as mentioned by cameraman), directly across the border from Afrin. (7/10)
location: 36.373391, 36.540253
location: 36.373391, 36.540253
While this structure to the east isn't visible on the latest Google Earth imagery (Sept 2019), construction in the location can be seen on @planetlabs imagery over 2020. (8/10)
The man in the video says that the trucks have stopped due to a malfunction. They were taking the oil to the 'free zone,' and it was intended for domestic markets. Additionally he says that they will pour the oil out (instead?) -translations thanks to @hasavrat (9/10)
At the end of the second video another truck approaches. This one also has Gaziantep plates (27 DH 623) and the same banner as the other two. Possibly related a Mitsubishi (Triton?) pickup with Ankara plates - 06 (D or B)PE 623 (10/10) - follows directly behind it. (10/10)
