Mittwoch, 28.07.2021 / 10:34 Uhr

Wieder Hungerblockade in Syrien

Von
Thomas von der Osten-Sacken

Dar'a, das war die Stadt, in der vor etwas mehr als zehn Jahren die Massenproteste in Syrien ihren Anfang nahmen. Lange stand es unter Kontrolle der Opposition, dann kam es unter Druck Russlands erneut unter Kontrolle des Regimes. Allerdings unter einer Bedingung: Nur russische keine syrischen Sicherheitskräfte durften in die Stadt, deren Bewohnerinnen und Bewohner zu Recht dem Regime nicht trauen und weiter dissident blieben.

Es kam erneut zu Demonstrationen und auch Angriffen auf syrische Offizielle. Das Regime reagierte, wie es immer reagiert: Mit einer tödlichen Hungerblockade, die von Russland, wie immer in solchen Fällen, unterstützt wird:

As the people of Daraa al-Balad area remain at loggerheads with the Syrian regime and Russian forces, the residents are being starved of food and medicine while also deprived of education and other basic amenities over their refusal to participate in Assad’s “farce” elections.

Since May, Daraa has been under siege by the Bashar al-Assad regime. 

Daraa al-Balad consists of several neighbourhoods, Palestinian refugee camps as well as camps for those displaced in the occupied Syrian Golan. There are also agricultural farms within the two to the three-kilometre area, but many have moved their operations, fearing bombardment by regime forces. 

Blocked off from medical attention, the elderly and children faint from the heat, as access to treatment for serious illnesses is barred. 

“A woman passed away while she was giving birth because she was prevented from entering the hospital,” local businessman and family man Mohamed Zatima tells The New Arab. 

He says that the Russians even go as far as to block off veterinary supplies to the area. “A siege by the Russians and the regime on Daraa al-Balad is not limited to humans, but even to animals,” he comments.