Member of the Free Council of Hama Governorate Musab Ashqar warned of a “humanitarian catastrophe” in the Alghab plain area in northwestern rural Hama should regime forces continue to set fire to crops, which constitute the major source of food and income for the locals.
Assad regime forces on Monday set fire to wheat crops in the farmlands in the village of Hawiz in Alghab plain area in northwestern rural Hama after the villagers refused to pay a fine to regime forces.
Local activist Bakkar Humaidi said that regime forces demanded that the villagers pay a fine of one thousand Syrian pounds per 1,000 square meters to allow villagers to harvest their crops. However, the villagers refused to pay.
Humaidi added that regime forces opened fire on the farmlands after the villagers refused to pay them money setting fire to crops. The fire destroyed over 5 hectares of wheat crops, while the villagers and the civil defense managed to control the fire and prevent it from spreading.
In May, wide areas of wheat crops around the town of Lataminah in northern rural Hama were destroyed in similar bombardment by regime forces, the civil defense teams working in the area said.
The deliberate burning of crops by regime forces is clearly aimed at putting pressure on the civilian population and forcing them into submission through denying them their main source of living. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Smart News Network)
