The intensifying aerial bombardment by the Assad regime and its allies on the town of Aqiribat and surrounding villages in eastern rural Hama has caused an exodus of civilians from the area. More than 600 families fled the area towards Sinjar sub-district northeast of the town of Ma’arat al-Nu’man in rual Idlib, the local council in Aqiribat said.
Wasel Ahmad, head of the local council in the villages of Sheikh Baraka area of Sinjar sub-district, said that a total of 700 families have so far arrived in Sinjar sub-district, including 600 women and 1,800 children. The arrivals included people with permanent disabilities, such as paraplegia, while Ahmad said that displaced people were presented with food baskets only.
The towns and villages in the areas of Aqiribat and Sa’an in eastern rural Hama have recently been subjected to intensifying airstrikes by the Assad regime and Russian air forces, which further aggravated the poor living conditions for civilians. The bombardment is causing many causalities among the civilians.
Last week, the local council in Aqiribat area appealed to international and humanitarian organizations as well as the UN Human Rights Council to take action to open safe corridors for civilians trapped in the area. The council said those civilians, already burdened with war, were stuck between the hammer of the Assad regime and the anvil of the ISIS extremist group which controls the area.
In a statement published earlier on social media sites, the local council in Aqiribat called on international organizations to assume their responsibilities towards civilians in the area. The council also called on the FSA and rebel groups stationed in the nearby areas to work on opening humanitarian corridors for civilians trapped in the area to leave safely. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Agencies)
