Residents of besieged neighborhoods in Syria’s Aleppo continue to suffer
ALEPPO NORTHERN COUNTRYSIDE, Syria (North Press) – Residents of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyeh neighborhoods in Aleppo struggle to secure their basics – and most notably bread – due to the overwhelming siege that has been imposed by the Syrian government forces for over a month.
On March 13, the government-affiliated 4th Armored Division imposed a siege on the two neighborhoods, preventing flour, medicine and fuel from entering them, leaving the residents in dire conditions.
Last year, Damascus placed strict measures on the neighborhoods in Aleppo, restricting the entry of medical and diesel supplies into these areas, according to residents.
Residents say that the goverment’s harassment has increased, making those entering and leaving the neigborhoos wait for long hours, imposing heavy taxes on the items’ entery, and checking identity cards (IDs) repeatedly.
The besieged neigborhoods’ residents are afriad to carry on big amounts of money, fearing to be confiscated on the checkpoints, according to a report to North Press.
So far, there are no signs of a solution, as no clarification has been provided by the government’s checkpoints for the reason behind the siege other than saying that it’s orders issued by higher authorities.
The 4th Armored Division said that it allowed the afromentioned materials to enter the two neighborhoods, prompting the clans’ dignitaries to come out on April 14 and deny what they described as the “claims.”
The two besieged neighborhoods, which are homes for 25,000 families, suffer from shortage of many livelihood basics and high prices.
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.
