Al-Shahba may be without bread, water within days as Damascus's blockade

The continues siege of the Fourth Division on al-Shahba Canton will lead to loss of bread and water and the spread of epidemics as the accumulation of rubbish over fuel oil shortage.

14 December, 2022 08:16

AL SHAHBA - ALAN RASHID

The Fourth Division of the Damascus government has been besieging al-Shahba Canton for about 5 years, but the siege has intensified since the beginning of last August.

Previously, the Fourth Division allowed the passage of small quantities of foodstuffs, medical supplies, and fuel in exchange for large amounts of money.

However, since the beginning of August, the Fourth Division imposed a complete siege on al-Shahba, exposing the lives of 200,000 citizens to great danger, with service institutions stopping work, suspending school hours, and almost complete paralysis in the health sector.

The Co-chair of the Economic Body in Afrin region, Imad Daoud, warned by saying, " Because of preventing the entry of materials necessary for production of bread, the province may be without bread in the coming days."

Daoud added "The daily needs of al-Shahba Canton are 36 tons of flour and more than four thousand liters of diesel fuel to produce 53 thousand bundles of bread to meet the citizens' needs."

In a related context, Daoud warned that the people may not be able to draw potable water from the wells due to diesel fuel shortage which made the municipality is no longer able to remove the garbage, which may lead to an outbreak of epidemics among the residents of al-Shahba canton and the displaced from Afrin.

The blockade has worsened fuel prices, if available. The price of a liter of diesel fuel reached 8,000 Syrian pounds, and the price of a liter of petrol reached 15,000, while the price of a household gas cylinder exceeded 120,000.

With the loss of diesel fuel, the people of al-Shahba and the IDPs spend their lives without heating, which poses a great danger to the health of the people, especially children and the elderly.

Daoud, explained that the majority of farmers refrained from farming because of loss of fuel, as well as fertilizers and pesticides needed for the agricultural season in the Canton.

a.k

ANHA