The opposition High Negotiations Committee condemned the ongoing siege of the Eastern Ghouta area east of Damascus, which the Assad regime and its militias have blockaded for more than five years.
In a statement published on its website on Tuesday, the HNC said that the regime’s crimes in the Ghouta and the ongoing siege were a blatant violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2254, calling for the immediate implementation of the resolution’s items, which include ending the suffering of those under siege, ensuring their protection, and securing food and medicine.
The HNC also stressed the need for a U.N. fact-finding mission to enter and follow up on the situation of those under siege in the Ghouta, and to hold to account those who stand behind these crimes.
Starvation is destroying those who remain in the Eastern Ghouta, which the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and its loyalist militias have been blockading for more than five years, taking additional lives, especially recently born children who are perishing during the siege.
The suffering of residents is increasing due to the lack of medicine for the large number of ill, especially those with cancer, who now number 559 people.
Since 2011, the Assad regime has relied on blockades of food and medicine supplies as a weapon of war to coerce opposition areas to submit, resulting in the death of many civilians.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
