They fight Democratic Nation Project in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh

Damascus's Fourth Division continue to impose the siege that has entered its thirty-fifth day, where they prevent most materials from entering the neighborhood, threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of citizens. In this report, we answer some questions and discuss in many details the issue of the siege on Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods and its dimensions, accompanied by live testimonies, numbers and statistics.

How many population of the besieged neighborhoods?

The last census of the Relief Committee for the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh in 2021 showed that the number of families reached 32,000 families, from various Syrian components, including (Kurds, Arabs, Syriacs, Turkmen, and Yazidis). As for the population, it reached 216,420 people, most of whom are Kurds. The number is divided into 35,796 heads of families, 37,480 heads of families, and 143,144 males and females (unmarried people and children).

According to the archives of the Relief Committee, most of the residents are from the displaced people of Afrin, who were forcibly displaced by the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries.

Valentina notes that the safety feature has attracted a number of Syrian families from different areas witnessing conflicts and battles, especially the areas of the Turkish occupation, where she mentioned the Idlib governorate in particular, by saying that they embraced these families and provided what they could to follow up their living matters in the neighborhoods.

As for the citizen Hamid Nasser, he indicated that Turkish attaks on Afrin canton forcibly displaced them to settle in the two neighborhoods of Aleppo.

Nasser notes that the imposed siege against them crosses all the red lines set by international law, such as the individual's right to live in dignity and freedom.

How did the siege start?

According to several statements by the joint presidency of the General Council in the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh, the siege imposed on the two neighborhoods is not a result of today or yesterday, but rather extends to more than three years.

However, the last and most severe wave of siege began on the 13th of last March, when the Fourth Division opened fire on trucks carrying foodstuffs heading to Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood.

Intensification of the siege was on the 13th of March, flour and fuel, which are essential materials in the manufacture of bread, and the operation of ampere generators to feed the neighborhood with electricity, were banned.

According to Union of Pharmacists in Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, the fifth day of April witnessed the prevention of the Fourth Division of pharmaceutical company representatives from entering the neighborhood to secure the families’ supplies of medicines to treat patients, especially those who must obtain periodic doses such as patients with high blood pressure and diabetes, as well as heart patients.

In this regard, the co-chair of the Economic Council in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh districts, Nariman Ibo, says that stressing checkpoints, imposing taxes and royalties, and preventing materials has led to the loss of basic materials.

Nariman also points out that the materials allowed to enter the neighborhood are vegetables and fruits only, and that royalties of up to 10,000 Syrian pounds are taken for each small transport vehicle (Suzuki).

Bread...a red line

According to the information we were able to obtain from the neighborhood economic council, the number of bakeries involved in the production process is 7 ready to manufacture bread in the event that flour and diesel are available.

According to Nariman, the daily production of the bakeries is 25,000 bundles, and about 25 tons of flour are needed to manufacture them to cover the needs of more than 200,000 people living in the neighborhoods.

In turn, Christian citizen George Lyon says that bread is a red line that should not be prevented from the people, as it is the main food for the people.

Leon points out that the siege affected them as citizens in securing basic materials, especially bread, which may threaten a humanitarian disaster.

What is the goal of the Fourth Division in imposing the siege

She replys it is the fear of exporting the ideas of the project implemented in the two neighborhoods known as the Democratic Nation Project to the rest of the Syrian regions.

Valentina continues her speech by saying, "It seems that the Damascus government did not like the form of the administration that works on running its affairs alone and relies on itself to secure the people's needs. Therefore, it tries by all possible means to strike the people who follow this administration."

Valentina likened these policies to the crimes committed by the mercenaries of the Turkish occupation army during their attacks on Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods.

Malika Abdo warned during her speech of consequences of the siege on the residents of the two neighborhoods because it would eventually lead to a humanitarian catastrophe.

Malika states that from time to time the Fourth Division takes arbitrary measures against them as Syrian citizens, including preventing them from carrying more than 150,000 Syrian pounds, or roughly the equivalent of 40 US dollars.

Several sources also confirmed that the Fourth Division's members had trespassed on the people's personal property by searching their cellular devices and threatening them with kidnapping if they failed to pay royalties and taxes periodically to the Division's members.

A.K

ANHA