Unimaginable situation in Ashrafieh- Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods

The neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh have been subjected to an unjust and continuous siege by the Damascus government since the beginning of the occupation of the city of Afrin, amid sharp criticism of the silence and positions of international organizations concerned with human rights, and the silence of the forces intervening in the Syrian crisis.

There are no means to protect against climate harshness

Farida Mohammad, a displaced woman from the occupied city of Afrin who lives in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood in the city of Aleppo, with her three young children, expresses her fears about the siege: “The diesel fuel is cut off. How will we spend the winter without heating material? How will we protect children and the elderly from the harsh climate?”

Farida Mohammad demanded an end to her suffering: “Until now, I have not installed a heater in my house, because I did not receive an allotment of 100 liters of diesel fuel, which a small percentage of the people received, as a result of the Damascus government tightening the siege and not allowing diesel tanks to enter the two neighborhoods.”

Dire consequences and the world is silent

As for Maryam Ahmed, who is also a 47-year-old displaced woman from occupied Afrin, and a mother of 4 young children, she sees the siege as the main reason for the deterioration of the situation. She said: “The situation is getting worse day by day. How long will the dire consequences of the siege haunt us? Are we not from this country?” “We came from a strange country, why are our rights taken away?”

Maryam Ahmed expressed her dissatisfaction with the positions of the countries and concerned parties, and said: “What raises resentment is that countries and human rights organizations ignore our pain and suffering. Everyone is dumb and blind when it comes to our file and our lived reality. What is the fault of children and adults due to the siege? We are approaching the entry of the forties of winter and until now.” "We didn't have heating material."

Maryam complained about what the siege caused, and said: “The repercussions of the siege were not limited to the heating source, but also to electricity, as the number of operating hours of generators supplying homes with electricity was also reduced.”

We cling to our land

In her turn, Berivan Mohammad complained about the ongoing siege scenario, and said: “Since we were forcibly displaced from Afrin as a result of its occupation by the Turkish occupation army and its mercenaries, to the neighborhood in which we now live, the necessities of life, from heating materials to medicines, which are treatment for patients, are not available.”

Berivan Mohammad explained: “The siege practiced by the Damascus government on the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh is suffocating us. As a people on our land, we have our rights that we must enjoy and not have them taken away from us. In return for this siege, there is resistance and a strong will, and this siege will not affect those who cling to our land.”

In addition to the two neighborhoods, the Damascus government imposes a similar siege on Afrin and al-Shahba canton, depriving thousands of the canton’s people, those forcibly displaced from Afrin, and camp residents, including heating fuel and basic and medical materials.

T/ Satt.

ANHA