Syrians go hungry as civil war rages on
15 Dec 2012 2:25 AM GMT
People are becoming desperate for food in parts of Syria, where fist fights or dashes have become common to secure a loaf of bread.
Conditions are especially difficult in the northern city of Aleppo, where civilians enduring incessant clashes and air raids in rebel-held districts say hunger is a new threat to survival in the 20-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.
‘I went out on Thursday and could not get any bread. If only the problem was just lack of food - there is also a huge shortage of fuel, which the bakeries need to run,’ said Ahmed, a resident of the battle-scarred Salaheddine district.
‘A few days ago, the bakery workers had no fuel so they tried to sell off packets of flour,’ he said.
‘People started getting into fist fights over the flour. Some days, rebels have to fire in the air to stop the fighting.’ With rebels closing in on Damascus, and Western and Arab states endorsing a new opposition coalition, Syria appears near a critical point in the conflict. A top diplomat in Russia, one of Assad's closest allies, acknowledged on Thursday that the Syrian leader's foes were gaining ground and might win.
But violence is still taking a terrible toll, with daily death tolls usually exceeding 100 and sometimes 200 in recent weeks. More than 40,000 have already died in the struggle.
The World Food Programme (WFP) says as many as a million people may go hungry this winter, as worsening security conditions make it harder to reach conflict zones.
Conditions are especially difficult in the northern city of Aleppo, where civilians enduring incessant clashes and air raids in rebel-held districts say hunger is a new threat to survival in the 20-month-old revolt against President Bashar al-Assad.
‘I went out on Thursday and could not get any bread. If only the problem was just lack of food - there is also a huge shortage of fuel, which the bakeries need to run,’ said Ahmed, a resident of the battle-scarred Salaheddine district.
‘A few days ago, the bakery workers had no fuel so they tried to sell off packets of flour,’ he said.
‘People started getting into fist fights over the flour. Some days, rebels have to fire in the air to stop the fighting.’ With rebels closing in on Damascus, and Western and Arab states endorsing a new opposition coalition, Syria appears near a critical point in the conflict. A top diplomat in Russia, one of Assad's closest allies, acknowledged on Thursday that the Syrian leader's foes were gaining ground and might win.
But violence is still taking a terrible toll, with daily death tolls usually exceeding 100 and sometimes 200 in recent weeks. More than 40,000 have already died in the struggle.
The World Food Programme (WFP) says as many as a million people may go hungry this winter, as worsening security conditions make it harder to reach conflict zones.
Next Story
