Daraa al-Balad has been besieged by the Assad regime for over three weeks in an attempt to force opposition fighters to surrender.
Parents have reported that infant milk has ran out for babies at medical centers and pharmacies in Daraa al-Balad [AFP via Getty]
A human rights group has warned of “serious humanitarian repercussions” affecting up to 40,000 people if the Syrian regime continue its siege on a district in the war-torn country’s south.
Daraa al-Balad has been besieged by the Assad regime for over three weeks in an attempt to force opposition fighters to surrender weapons and accept the imposition of military checkpoints in their areas.
Regime forces have isolated the centre of Daraa from the neighbourhoods of Daraa al-Balad by closing roads leading to it, depriving residents of access to hospitals.
They have also blocked the passage of food aid on at least occasion, amid soaring prices and a shortage of essential goods. Parents in Daraa al-Balad have reported that infant milk for babies has ran out at medical centres and pharmacies.
In a press release on Thursday, the Euro-Med Monitor, a group that documents rights violations in Europe and the Middle East, urged the Syrian authorities to “stop the policy of starvation and siege against the civilian population”.
It urged the government to allow the passage of livelihood necessities, as well as securing the freedom of movement for the civilian population to enable them to reach health facilities and workplaces.
It warned that the prospect of residents surviving a long siege were slim, since they depended on young men working in other parts of the governorate.
A resident of Daraa Al-Balad, identified as H.K, described fears of the regime’s imminent incursion and its potential to unleash collective punishment.
“We are.. living in terror because the regime forces might storm the region and take revenge on the residents, as happened in other areas,” H.K said.
“Security forces at checkpoints surrounding Daraa al-Balad open machine guns at residential homes daily, and warplanes and helicopters almost never leave the sky.”
In a statement, Anas Aljerjawi, the Chief Operations Officer for Euro-Med Monitor, deplored international silence over the matter, something he said encouraged Syrian regime “to continue these practices”.
He said that under direct supervision of the Russian army, the siege was part of the regime’s “subjugation policy, that has been imposed since the outbreak of popular protests in March 2011 based on besieging, starving and targeting of the population to punish them”.
The province of Daraa, a former stronghold of the Syrian opposition, has been the site of ambushes on regime forces since they took back control of the rebel territories with Russian help in 2018.
Source: the New Arab
***Show us some LOVE by sharing it!***
