Mothers in the neighbourhoods of Şêxmaqsud and Eşrefiye, which have been under heavy embargo by the Damascus government since 13 March, are determined in their resistance and said they will not bow to anyone.
The Damascus government continues to impose a heavy embargo on the neighbourhoods of Şêxmaqsud and Eşrefiye in Aleppo, not allowing food trucks to enter either neighbourhood. Mothers in Şêxmaqsud and Eşrefiye reacted to this and said: "We will not bow to the government of Damascus no matter what."
There has been no flour entrance to the neighbourhoods since 13 March and the flour warehouses are empty. However, due to the foresight of the Şêxmaqsud people, during the war years, each house would store its own flour and bread was made accordingly.
Resistance will grow
Fatma Mihemed stated that it is a dream for the Damascus administration to think that the children in Şêxmaqsud and Eşrefiye will starve because of the embargo and that the people will bow before them, and said: "The people of Şêxmaqsud have grown up in resistance and will break all the sieges with their own will."
A mother called Zeyneb said that they would not bow and added: “We meet all our needs ourselves. We make bread with our flour. However, since there is no wood and diesel, we make our bread by burning clothing scraps. That's why we promise to increase our resistance with Afrin songs."
Embargo continues
The neighbourhoods of Shexmaqsud and Eşrefiye in Aleppo have been fighting against ISIS, Al Nusra, Ehrar al-Sham, Jabhat al-Shamiye, Ceysh al-Islam, KDP-linked ENKS, etc., since the beginning of the Syrian war. They were the target of mercenary groups.
The neighbourhoods of Şêxmaqsud and Eşrefiye came under the control of the Damascus administration at the end of 2016. The regime continued the policy of de-Kurdification pursued by mercenary groups since the beginning of the war.
Mercenary groups and the Damascus administration, which have not been able to defeat the YPG/YPJ forces since 2011, carry out periodic bombardments against Şêxmaqsud and Eşrefiye and impose a siege and embargo on the region.
Due to the siege and embargo, the daily life of those living in these neighbourhoods became very difficult. There is a great shortage of food, medicine and health supplies in the region.
The people are trying to survive despite the silence of international human rights organizations, especially the UN.
