The 4th Brigade of the Syrian army continues imposing an embargo on the Sheikh Maqsoud (Şêxmeqsud) and Ashrafiyah (Eşrefiye) neighbourhoods of Aleppo and the Shehba Canton. The embargo does not allow the delivery of basic necessities into the region and puts people's lives in jeopardy.

Residents of Afrin, who have been living in the Serdem Refugee Camp in Shehba Canton since the occupation of their land by the Turkish state and its mercenaries in 2018, spoke to ANHA about the embargo by the Syrian government and stressed that they would resist the embargo under any circumstances.

Nadiya Mihemed, who resides in the Serdem Camp, said that they have been confronting challenges for 5 years, stressing that they would resist the embargo to the end.

Mihemed noted that food, fuel and medicine are not allowed to be supplied to the canton. She called on the Syrian government to lift the embargo, allow humanitarian aid to the region, and open the roads for Afrin IDPs to receive treatment in Aleppo.

A citizen named Hamid Ebdo, a resident of the camp, said: “We are having difficulties due to the cold weather. The Syrian government does not allow fuel supply to the Shehba Canton and imposes a heavy embargo on the camps.”

Ebdo called for humanitarian and legal organizations to intervene immediately and lift the embargo. He added: “Our children are dying because of the severe winter cold, lack of medicine and fuel.”