​​​​​​​Amnesty International.. Damascus gov must lift siege on Aleppo neighborhoods

 Today, Tuesday, Amnesty International said that the blockade imposed by the Damascus government since August 2022 has caused an acute shortage of fuel and aid.  This affects tens of thousands of civilians, including the internally displaced.

 The organization indicated that as a result of the blockade, medical supplies are now running low, as people burn household items and plastic in an attempt to;  To keep warm in very cold temperatures.

 The Damascus government controls the entry of basic supplies, such as fuel, flour, and humanitarian aid, into these areas. According to the organization, the residents said that the Damascus forces intermittently restricted the entry of fuel and flour into these neighborhoods over the past year, and the latest blockade lasted for more than April 2022.

 Residents told Amnesty International that the start of the siege in August coincided with the start of talks to normalize relations between Turkey and Syria, both of which are hostile to the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

 Lifting the blockade is a moral and legal duty

 “It is appalling to see the Syrian authorities denying tens of thousands of people in Aleppo basic supplies due to political considerations, as civilians live in fear, deprivation and constant uncertainty, and are pushed again,” said Diana Samaan, Syria Researcher at Amnesty International Beirut.  The highest price in this seemingly endless conflict.

"The Syrian government must take immediate action to address the terrible humanitarian crisis by allowing the entry of fuel and other essential supplies, as well as organizations providing aid to the affected areas, without restrictions," she added.

 Ending this crisis is not only a moral imperative, it is also a legal duty, and the Syrian government is obligated under international law to ensure that its population can obtain adequate food, medicine, and other essential supplies, and by preventing them from obtaining this, it is violating their rights.”

 Fuel shortages exacerbate the suffering

 The people interviewed by the organization said that since the end of August of last year, the "Fourth Division" of the Damascus forces has restricted the entry of fuel into the affected areas;  As a result, these neighborhoods receive only two hours of electricity per day, compared to seven hours before the siege.

 Hospitals, bakeries and other basic facilities are running out of fuel and face imminent closure if the blockade continues.

 A doctor in a hospital in al-Shahba district told Amnesty International: “We are very worried that the hospital generator will run out of fuel. The problem is that we cannot cut off electricity to certain sections of the hospital such as the intensive care unit, operating room or emergency care centre;  So we need electricity 24 hours a day. We turn off the lights, heaters and medical equipment that are not needed, but that only saves a small amount of fuel."

 Access to medicines and aid

 Residents of the affected areas told Amnesty International;  They have not received food aid since the siege began, while supplies of essential medicines are dwindling in hospitals.

 The citizen from Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, Razan, told Amnesty International that her husband no longer has the blood pressure medications he takes, but hospitals do not have any of them, and pharmacies sell them at exorbitant prices!

 Mustafa, also from the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, said that a humanitarian aid organization that was planning to provide support for a medical facility in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood had to postpone the project;  Waiting for the approval of the Damascus government.

 He and other residents added that the Syrian Arab Red Crescent;  It is a humanitarian organization affiliated with the Damascus government, which has not provided them with aid since the siege began.

 "I also visited the clinic run by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent here to get medicine, just painkillers, and they told me they had run out of supplies. I asked them when they expected to get more stocks and they said they didn't know," he said.

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