Students protest against Transitional Govt.'s siege of Sheikh Maqsoud, Ashrafiyeh

Thousands of students, along with members of the Democratic Society Education and Training Committee of the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods, demonstrated on Thursday in Aleppo to condemn the siege imposed on the residents of the two neighborhoods by the Syrian Transitional Government.

Thousands of students from all three primary school levels participated in the demonstration, along with students from the Martyr Zozan Youseef Institute.

The demonstrators held flags of the Democratic Society Education and Training Committee, as well as banners with "No to the siege... Education is a natural right," "Preventing children from learning is a crime," and "Schools need heating" written on.

Some students also carried jerry cans used for storing diesel fuel and others that can be attached to heaters, as a message denouncing the lack of heating in the schools of the two neighborhoods as a result of the siege.

The demonstration began in front of the March 8th Meeting Hall in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood and proceeded to the Martyr Guleh Salmo Roundabout, chanting slogans such as, "No to the Siege," and "Long Live the Resistance of the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh Neighborhoods."

Upon reaching the roundabout, a statement was read on behalf of the Democratic Society Education Committee in Arabic by the student Salwa Ma'mo and in English by Shukry Mostafa; the co-chair of the Teachers' Union in the two neighborhoods.

The statement expressed concern over the continued siege, which has caused shortages of basic supplies, particularly fuel, leading to a deterioration in living conditions and threatening the daily lives of residents. It emphasized that children and school students are the most affected.

The statement held the Transitional Government fully responsible for the safety and health of students and children in the two neighborhoods, as well as for the decline in school attendance and academic performance.

The statement also stressed the need to adhere to and reactivate the Agreements of March 10th and April 1st, beginning with lifting the siege and depoliticizing the service, education, and health sectors.

The Transitional Government has imposed a suffocating siege on the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods since September 25th, preventing the entry of essential supplies, especially fuel.

J.J

ANHA