Damascus government besieges Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafieh .. What are repercussions?

The Damascus government continues to pursue a policy of starvation and impose a siege on the people of the two neighborhoods, which will negatively affect their livelihood.

Sheikh Maqsoud ... in lines

The Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood is located on the northwestern outskirts of Aleppo, and have suffered most from the attacks of the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation army or the forces of the Damascus government in the past.

The neighborhood and Ashrafieh constitute a mosaic of the Syrian components of the Kurds, Arabs, Turkmen and Syriacs, who coexist together and work to manage themselves within communes and councils according to the system of the democratic nation.

The population of the two neighborhoods is about 150,000 people, distributed among 25,000 families living in the eastern, western, and well-known sections, as well as part of the Ashrafieh neighborhood and the village of Banu, according to the records of the neighborhood’s contract committee.

Sheikh Maqsoud district is also considered one of the most industrial areas producing clothes in Aleppo, as experience and availability of manpower contributed to building workshops for the manufacture and marketing of ready-made clothes, which are the source of income for most families in the neighborhood.

However, the recent siege caused many problems for families, due to the difficulty of securing basic raw materials such as fuel that supply electricity to their workshops.

'The siege ... is not born today'

For eight months, the government of Damascus has been working to create obstacles to close the road to securing the necessary supplies for the people of the neighborhoods.

On December 5, 2020, ANHA agency published testimonies of civilians from the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods about the siege imposed on them by the Damascus government, which is still continuing intermittently.

Link: /ar/haber/c2a0syash-hkwmh-dmshq--in-lm-yrdhkhwa-balslah-falyk-balhsar-h43027.html

'Loss of fuel'

The prolonged blockade and failed attempts to resolve it through dialogue contributed to the general loss of fuel in the two neighborhoods, as the price of a liter of diesel in the free market reached 2000 Syrian pounds, and it is rising one day from another.

The General Council for Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods had set up a program to distribute diesel at a symbolic price of about 41,800 Syrian pounds per barrel and 190 pounds per liter, while the price of a barrel now on the black market is about 400,000 Syrian pounds.

However, since the last summer, the Syrian government has deliberately blocked the road for geopolitical reasons, which has resulted in the failure to fully distribute the material to the people.

As for domestic gas, the price of a kilo of it has reached 6000 Syrian pounds, that is, if you want to buy a gas cylinder with 9 kilos, you have to pay 54,000 Syrian pounds or the equivalent of a government employee's salary.

In spite of this, the General Council is trying to alleviate the suffering of the people by providing support through the People's Municipality by distributing two kilograms of household gas to each family at a price of 600 per kilo until the relief of the crisis.

Why does Damascus suffocate civilians?

On this subject, ANHA agency held a meeting with the co-chair of the General Council of the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods, Muhammad Sheikho, who indicated the existence of understandings between the Syrian government and the Turkish occupation government to tighten the siege on al-Shahba canton and the neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, in the recent period.

He added, "There is an undeclared agreement between tose parties, whether it is Jarablus or al-Bab and Afrin to Girê Spi, via Siri Kaniye, so how can the Syrian government deal and agree with the occupiers of our lands and impose a siege on us. "

He went on to ask, "Is this our reward to protect the people of Aleppo in general from mercenary attacks?" Adding, "We have paid martyrs and blood to reach this day, and we will not hesitate to preserve their principles."

Sheikho stressed the need to enable the foundations of the solution through dialogue between the Syrians themselves, but the government's policy is currently attracted towards the occupiers, and this is not acceptable.

'Emphasizing barriers'

Meanwhile, the checkpoints of the Damascus government forces surrounding the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods tighten the entry and exit of the people, tighten the noose on their movements, prevent the taking of many objects with them, and work to inspect them.

In addition, flour, fuel and other basic materials are prohibited from time to time, which angered citizens.

On this issue, citizen Fatima Muhammad, from Afrin, who was displaced to the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, says, "We suffer from a shortage of fuel and roads are closed in front of us, and we cannot buy diesel."

The citizen stated that she had a grandson at the age of one year and four months, and she asked: What was his fault to be a witness to the suffering, as a result of the road closures and the imposition of the blockade on the neighborhood, which in turn leads to high prices and scarcity of materials in the markets.

'Humanitarian catastrophe'

Regarding the repercussions of the continued siege on the neighborhood that houses 150,000 people, Sheikho warned of the consequences of its continuation and turning into a humanitarian catastrophe, and said: “Despite the blockade, we were able to secure daily flour to distribute bread to the people and we will continue to do so, but the concerned organizations must intervene. International or the United Nations to open roads and lift the siege. "

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ANHA