Bread Prices Skyrocket As Flour Scarcity hits Besieged Aleppo Neighborhoods
ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – People in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods of Aleppo are suffering from a shortage of bread as the Syrian government-imposed siege continues. After three months of encirclement, residents are buying bread at double the price.
Government forces have periodically prevented the entry of fuel, food, and medicine to the two neighborhoods since August 2022. It has led to a deterioration in the health and living conditions of residents.
Salah Ahmad, an official at the Economic Committee in Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh, told North Press that their areas have been under siege for months. The most-needed basic goods are not permitted to pass by the government’s Fourth Armored Division.
The seven bakeries located in the neighborhoods suffer from a severe shortage of flour, which led to a major decline in production, Ahmed added.
He said, “This decline in production has made it near-impossible for residents to secure their basic needs.”
A bundle of bread is sold for 200 Syrian pounds ($0,03) at local bakeries. However, the bread that now reaches the neighborhoods through outside merchants is sold at 3.000 SYP ($0,45), which most residents are unable to afford.
Every day, people line up early at the neighborhood’s bakeries. Many return home empty-handed, as not enough bread is being produced, according to Ahmad.
Muhammad Rashid, 33, from Sheikh Maqsoud, told North Press that every day at 6 am he heads to the bakery near his house to buy bread. Otherwise, he will be forced to buy from outside merchants, which he cannot afford.
On January 24, Amnesty International urged the Syrian government to lift the siege imposed on the predominantly-Kurdish Aleppo neighborhoods.
Diana Semaan, Syria researcher at Amnesty International’s Beirut Regional Office, said “The Syrian government must take immediate action to address the dire humanitarian crisis by allowing fuel and other essential supplies, as well as aid organizations, into the areas affected, without restriction.”
“The Syrian government has an obligation under international law to ensure its population have access to adequate food, medicine and other essential supplies. By blocking such access, they are violating their rights,” she added.