(Eqtsad)- People of the Yarmouk Basin in the southern province of Daraa have been affected by months of conflict between rebels and an ISIS-affiliated group where living conditions get worse and ban of food entry escalates the suffering.
The clashes with the Khalid Ibn al-Walid Army renewed last week started on 31 January and continued dissipating residents’ hopes of the possibility of lifting the siege on the area to allow bread, flour, medication, and some primary products to enter to the residents who have been besieged for over two months.
Well informed sources indicated that the residents, around 50,000 people, have lost hope of a solution being reached in light of the current fighting between the two sides. Both sides accuse each other of being responsible for the current situation in the Basin area without considering the difficult circumstances that residents are experiencing. Residents are living without food products, and experiencing deteriorating health conditions especially in children as most health institutions in the Basin area stopped offering their treatment services.
The source pointed out that there was hope of a possible solution for the situation of the besieged Yarmouk Basin residents. Various actors in the province had been working to end the siege, but with the renewal of clashes the hope of a solution has dissipated.
Speaking to Eqtsad, Abu Hassan, 45, a suspended teacher said the renewed clashes has exacerbated the deteriorated living conditions and cut off all the area’s veins. He pointed out that all the routes leading to the area are under the control of the opposing sides. Before the fighting started again, the factions allowed some people to walk through their areas, and women and children were allowed to bring food products into the area such as sugar, flour and bread. With the violent clashes that is no longer possible and the residents are cut off.
Abu Hassan indicated that life has stopped in the villages of the Yarmouk Basin. There have been no market or commercial activities for over two months because no food products or essential commodities have entered the area.
Oum Azzam, 45, said, “We were exposed to all kinds of insults and humiliation, and we used to wait for long hours at the checkpoints for them to allow us to move around by foot. There were so many people waiting, and we still thanked God because, in the end, we were able to bring some products in to feed our children, but now everything has stopped, and the roads have been closed to pedestrians and will not open soon.”
Ali, 35 a farmer, said “Before the fighting, we used to go to the town of Taseel every day to buy basic and essential products, and we waited for long hours, and sometimes we were turned away because the road was closed and we would come back the next day. That was all on foot.” He said the situation is intolerable and it exceeds what any human being could withstand. He added, “We started to feel as if we are in a disconnected world, no one hears us, no helps us with anything, despite the appeals of residents and children to lift the siege because we are guiltless civilians and not the reasons it was imposed.”
Shayma, 41 a housewife, said, “We have nothing to eat, we eat one meal a day made of lentils or bulgur wheat, and it is from the supplies we prepared from our fields. And now after the last rains, some plants and foliage started to grow. We will survive a little long by eating those, but we do not know what we will do after that if the current situation continues.” She indicated that the most important thing is to provide flour which has started to run out in many households with the ongoing roadblocks.
Hajj Qasem al-Mohamad, 60 and a kidney patient, said the situation is difficult as his medical condition requires continuous medical supervision which is not possible in the Yarmouk Basin area. He pointed out that stocks of all kinds of medications have run out in the pharmacies in the area.
The Yarmouk Basin area located in the west of Deraa province on the border with Jordan and the occupied Syrian territories. The area is under the control of the Khalid Ibn al-Walid Army accused of pledging its allegiance to the Islamic State. The area is witnessing fierce fighting between the Free Syrian Army factions and the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army. The standoff between the two sides has been ongoing for two years without either side being able to conclude the battle to their advantage. The only loser in this struggle is the Basin area’s residents who pay a daily price for the fighting just because they live in this geographical location.
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