When You Imagine You Have Hit The Rock Bottom, There Is More To Follow
MEP: Al-Fu’ah and Kafriya have been under siege for four years making lives harsh for people in the north-east of Idlib, sitting on Syria’s border with Turkey.
These two towns have become a symbol of resistance to ISIL’s forces that has brought upon the people only death and ruin.
Al-Fu’ah is a Syrian town adjacent to Binnish in Idlib’s central part which is home to 10 thousand and two hundred and sixty four residents. Kafriya is a town governed by Idlib located 8 kilometres north of Idlib.
Ma’arrat Misrin is in the north west and Al-Fu’ah in the north east.
These town are ruled by terrorist groups such as Al-Nusra Front, Jaish al-Fatah, Ahrar al-Sham, and Jund al-Aqsa. They are based in Binnish and Tell el Kherbé, and they are surrounded.
On March 28th, 2015, after four days of fight, these two towns and thousands of innocent civilians were beleaguered.
On August 2nd, 2015, Jaish al-Fatah announced his decision declaring that they will keep on their missions in these two towns.
On September 18th, 2015, troops launched a new wave of attacks on these towns. They fired about 400 missiles, and some vehicles were exploded in the towns among the people.
On September 19th, 2015, people were able to gain dominance around Tell el Kherbé and Al-Fu’ah. All this paved the way for pouring support for residents in beleaguered towns.
Until now, bombings and missiles haven’t ceased a single day, creating a climate of fear making people stay in their houses and stripping the children of their very basic rights. The residents in these two towns are in dire need of basics for their lives; clothing and food is barely found. Sometimes some food products are poured into the community by some businessmen and merchants, but due to exorbitant prices people cannot afford them, just bringing them more sorrow and pain leaving their meals empty of enough of food. This privation is just tip of the iceberg of many more hardships people endure and wrestle with. Adding to the troubles of an already sinking community, ISIL’s snipers kill at will the residents’ cattle to leave them no choice but suffering and starvation.
The problems these towns encounter are not confined to geographical siege. Telecommunication’s posts have been hit by terrorist groups making communication a remote possibility. All the town’s districts are under snipers’ close watch, and if someone seeks a high ground to access network, they will be shot dead.
Sanitary conditions and health issues are at high stake. Medicine is rare. Besides, apart from diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, other health concerns like kidney problems and indigestion problems have emerged which if left uncured, will develop into malignant forms posing the risk of death. But, the analgesics cannot pass the siege. Happiness has given way to sadness in these towns for children.
Today, you see that children’s faces cry out sadness. Children mourn the loss of siblings and parents and have to carry too much a burden of homes destroyed and loved ones lost.
With tightening the siege, the towns are pushed to the brink of death. It is a slow and insidious manslaughter. Food and medicine have turned into bygone dreams, and people drink murky and polluted water.
After a year and a half, other countries have adopted silence towards the catastrophe unfolding here and have taken no action to save the people and the ill. Maybe so-called human rights advocates underestimate this tragedy because these towns do not exist in countries like France and Germany to observe silence for or condemn the causes for these brutal killings.
