Idlib – North-Press Agency
In the town of Zayzon, in al-Ziyara area in the western Hama countryside, almost 100 families suffer from the absence of infrastructure and services after the bombardment of facilities and their destruction and theft by opposition groups.
According to residents of the town, electricity lines and water networks in the villages of al-Ziyara area are still out of service, sewage systems are not operating, and debris still covers many streets.
28-year-old Bashar Ahmad, a resident of al-Ziyara area, said that residents will face a "disastrous" situation as the summer approaches.
He added that the electricity, water, and sanitation sectors being out of service makes the area “unlivable.”
Ibrahim al-Khaled, a resident of Zayzon town, said that he left his home three months ago due to a lack of services, but the high cost of living forced him to return after a month "and live without services and under bombardment.”
On the 6th of this month, a group affiliated with the Turkistan Islamic Party bombed Zayzon's thermal power station tower in Hama's northwestern countryside.
On the 6th of last April, the same groups dug up irrigation pipes in al-Ghab Plain in Hama’s western countryside with the aim of extracting and selling them in the black market after the funding was stopped.
Ahmad Nasan, the chairman of the local council in Zayzon town, told North-Press that Hayat Tahrir al Sham’s Syrian Salvation Government did not provide any services to the town.
He confirmed that the council made several requests regarding the necessity of directing the organizations to al-Ziyara area, but all were in vain, under the pretext that the area is close to the front lines with governmental forces, though the villages and towns of al-Ziyara have been relatively calm for several months.”
Villages and towns in al-Ziyara witnessed great destruction due to military operations that took place early this year between Syrian government forces and armed opposition groups. As a cease-fire was declared on the sixth of March, some families returned to their villages and towns, despite damage to their houses.
Abdel-Hasib Alisha, head of the relief office in the Zayzon town council, told North-Press, "The electricity sector stopped, as well as pumping water through the networks, which have been targeted.”
Alisha said that the local council services are currently limited to administrative and providing hygiene services for the "few families that have returned", which number only about 100.
He pointed out that families travel 20 km a day to get bread from nearby towns such as Jesser al-Shugour city in the Idlib countryside, in addition to the fact that some shops that may open for a short time. “It is hard to find a person who provides people with the basic needs.”
Hospitals and medical centers are absent, especially for people with chronic diseases who have to travel long distances to other areas to obtain the necessary treatment.