Like Fourth Division, General Security imposes siege on Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh

As a precautionary measure, the People's Municipality in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods has reduced the operating hours of diesel generators supplying the two neighborhoods with electricity, based on the amperage system, due to a severe shortage of diesel fuel.

According to the new operating schedule, the evening generators will supply the two neighborhoods with electricity for only three hours, from 7 to 10 pm.

During ANHA correspondent's communication with a private source in the People's Municipality and another in the General Council of the two neighborhoods, regarding the reasons for the reduced generator operating hours, the sources confirmed that the primary reason lies in the Syrian transitional government's prevention of fuel supplies to the two neighborhoods for some time. This has resulted in a near-depletion of diesel fuel, with the remaining supply allocated to bakeries and the only hospital in the two neighborhoods, in addition to reducing the hours of electricity supply to the two neighborhoods.

It is likely that the beginnings of the siege began with the kidnapping of a number of fuel truck drivers and their companions at a joint checkpoint between the General Security and the Turkish occupation mercenaries on June 18, 2025, on the international road between the city of Deir Hafer and Aleppo, according to what local human rights organizations have documented.

Many observers consider these practices by the transitional government in Syria to be similar to the violations committed by the Fourth Division of the collapsed Ba'ath regime. This regime's mentality was based on attacking the people's livelihood by targeting basic services such as electricity, water, and bread, since fuel is the backbone of all these essentials.

It is worth noting that the collapsed Ba'ath regime imposed a siege on the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods beginning in 2018 and continuing until its fall. This siege resulted in the deaths of children due to the lack of heating in the winter, and the severe impact it had on civilians, who suffered as a result.

Sh-S

ANHA