Local association condemns government siege on Afrin IDPs in Aleppo
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Sunday, the Afrin Social Association in Qamishli city, northeastern Syria, condemned in a statement the ongoing siege imposed by the Syrian government on the areas where Afrin IDPs are living in Aleppo city and its northern countryside.
For two months in row, Syrian government forces have imposed a severe siege on Ashrafieh and Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhoods in Aleppo, and Shahba areas in its northern countryside, preventing the entry of fuel, medicine and food products, the statement read. The siege deprived the residents of fuel amid a harsh winter.
The northern countryside of Aleppo, locally known as the Shahba region, houses IDPs of the Kurdish city of Afrin which was occupied in 2018 by Turkey following a military operation called “Olive Branch” to push away the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of protecting Turkey’s national security.
The operation caused the displacement of about 300.000 of the original inhabitants of the Kurds of Afrin who have been taking shelter in 40 villages and five camps in the Shahba region since then.
Afrin Social Association was established in November 2021 to help Afrin IDPs and meet their requirements in the Jazira region.
The association warned of a humanitarian catastrophe against Afrin IDPs if the government’s siege continued.
The Association appealed the civil society and human rights organizations to intervene and lift the siege on the region.
There are about 16.000 displaced families from Afrin distributed over 42 villages and towns in the Shahba region, in addition to 1.870 families, comprising 7.500 individuals, now living in the camps of Barkhodan, Sardam, Afrin, al-Awda and Shahba, according to the Social Affairs and Labor Board of the Afrin region, currently operating in Aleppo northern countryside.
The region has been militarily protected by Russian and Syrian government forces since 2018.
Since the beginning of November, Syrian government forces have imposed a siege on many villages and towns in the northern countryside of Aleppo, exacerbating the suffering of more than 200.000 original inhabitants and displaced people.