In Syria's Moadamiyah, children protest regime-imposed siege and starvation
In Syria's Moadamiyah, children protest regime-imposed siege and starvation
The situation is so dire in this rebel-held, regime-besieged town of the Damascus countryside, that children are protesting near regime checkpoints, begging soldiers for food and medicine.
2 min read
The regime is stopping aid and food from going into the besieged town [AFP]
Nearly five months since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces began a crippling siege of the town of Moadamiyah in the western Damascus countryside, children there have taken to the streets, holding protests a few dozen metres from a regime checkpoint.
They are calling on international organisations and the international community to intervene to lift the siege and allow in desperately needed food and medical aid.
Activists on social media posted videos showing children carrying placards that read: "Where is my bread and medicine? We want to live" and "We want the road to be opened."
Some children asked for shawarma, biscuits and chicken meat, which they have not tasted for months - if not years.
In another video clip posted online, a man in his fifties inside the town can be heard saying: "It has been almost 130 days without any aid coming in. We have depleted all our food supplies. We only want the road to be opened and the suffering to end."
The man criticised the UN for turning a blind eye to their suffering.
"The regime forces are besieging more than 45,000 civilians, preventing food and medicine from coming in and stopping civilians from coming in or leaving," Kinan Natouf, a local resident and activist, told The New Arab.
The humanitarian situation in the town is rapidly deteriorating as a result, he added, saying rife malnutrition could soon lead to loss of life.
They are calling on international organisations and the international community to intervene to lift the siege and allow in desperately needed food and medical aid.
Activists on social media posted videos showing children carrying placards that read: "Where is my bread and medicine? We want to live" and "We want the road to be opened."
Some children asked for shawarma, biscuits and chicken meat, which they have not tasted for months - if not years.
In another video clip posted online, a man in his fifties inside the town can be heard saying: "It has been almost 130 days without any aid coming in. We have depleted all our food supplies. We only want the road to be opened and the suffering to end."
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Some children asked for shawarma, biscuits and chicken meat, which they have not tasted for months - if not years |  |
The man criticised the UN for turning a blind eye to their suffering.
"The regime forces are besieging more than 45,000 civilians, preventing food and medicine from coming in and stopping civilians from coming in or leaving," Kinan Natouf, a local resident and activist, told The New Arab.
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"The medical centre and its staff are finding it hard to cope with the deteriorating conditions of people with chronic illnesses due to the shortage of medicines, which could also lead to loss of life if aid is not brought in."
Syrian regime forces impose systematic sieges on dozens of mostly rebel-held towns, villages and neighbourhoods across Syria.
The government's reasoning is to quell the alleged presence of "terrorists", but many independent analysts agree it is a deliberate tactic of war.
Rebels have also imposed sieges on some areas seen as loyal to the regime, albeit on a more limited scale.
In the meantime, civilians, especially children and the vulnerable, have paid the biggest price. Many have died of starvation and other siege-induced causes in these areas.
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