​​​​​​​Afrin and Shahba Canton council renews its call for lifting the siege

Shahba Canton has been witnessing a strict siege imposed by the Damascus government for more than 5 years, it tightened it in late April.

Damascus prevents the entry of fuel, medical supplies, medicines, and basic life materials into the Canton, which puts the lives of tens of thousands of IDPs people from Afrin and the residents of Shahba Canton in danger.

The deputy co-chair of the Afrin and Shahba Canton council, Jamal Rashid, commented on the siege in an interview with ANHA agency, and stressed that "whenever there are new alliances and agreements between the countries active in the Syrian crisis, we find that the severity of the siege on the besieged areas such as Shahba Canton, the Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods in the city of Aleppo increase."

Rashid continued his talk about the lived reality due to the siege and the damages resulting from it, saying: "With the tightening of the siege on Shahba Canton more than 9 months ago, the Damascus government barriers prevent the entry of fuel, so that the working hours of electricity generators decreased 2 months ago from 5 hours to only 2 hours per day, and announce on the 27th of last April, the cut off power."

Rashid explained that the few remaining quantities they use for water and bread, adding, "We are facing a humanitarian catastrophe, because the amount of fuel that remains in our possession is very small, especially because the infrastructure in the Canton is destroyed and all the necessities of life need fuel".

He added, "We also provide the only mill in the region with fuel oil to work and produce flour for bakeries".

Rashid continued his talk about the damage that affected the health sector, and said: "The blockade has greatly affected the health situation in the Canton. Because the people were unable to reach hospitals and medical points, deaths occurred as a result of the lack of transportation, and the hospital, medical equipment and other supplies are working on electricity, which requires generators to operate continuously and 24 hours a day, but diesel fuel is not available, which also threatens the hospital’s work if the siege is not lifted".

Rashid pointed out that the agricultural reality in Shahba Canton is threatened as a result of the lack of fuel oil for farmers to harvest their season, or to irrigate their crops.

Rashid concluded his speech by renewing the call to lift the siege, and said: "We appeal to the human rights and humanitarian authorities to do their duty and lift the siege on Shahba district; because it is heading towards a real humanitarian catastrophe".

It is noteworthy that the deputy co-chair of the Afrin and Shahba Canton council, Jamal Rashid, had stressed, during an interview published by ANHA agency on April 13, the need to put an end to this siege and the practices applied against the people of the region.

Sh-S

ANHA