Government tightens screw on Sheikh Maqsoud’s residents in Syria’s Aleppo
ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – Members of the security committee affiliated with the Syrian government forces in the city of Aleppo, north Syria, imposed strict measures at the entrances of the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood north of Aleppo.
The committee defined the amount of money the residents of the neighborhood were allowed to bear at 150,000 Syrian pounds (SYP).
As for receiving remittances, the committee noted that the resident were forced to receive them from the exchange offices present in the neighborhood.
Husam Kamal al-Din, works in clothes trade, was not allowed to enter to the neighborhood because he bore 200,000 SYP.
“After I was subjected to a thorough inspection, they took the 50,000 SYP forcibly and then they released me,” Kamal al-Din said.
Kamal al-Din heads to Sheikh Maqsoud every week to buy clothes from sewing workshops and sells them in the markets of Aleppo.
“The government deals with the neighborhood’s residents as an enemy so that they are checked thoroughly when leaving and returning to the neighborhood,” Zakariya al-Sheikh Omar, a government employee residing in the neighborhood, said.
Members of the security committee imposes taxes on commodities’ transportation even in small quantities, according to al-Sheikh Omar.
Many residents of the government-held areas in Aleppo governorate head to Sheikh Maqsoud, which is run by a civil administration not affiliated with the government, because the livelihood and economy there are better than those of the government.
The 4th Armored Division of the Syrian government has been banning food products from reaching the neighborhood for 14 consuctive days.
The western neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh are separated from the other neighborhoods in Aleppo by three government security checkpoints; Ashrafiyeh, Awared, and Maghsalat al-Jazira.