In a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the Syrian Coalition Mohammed Yahya Maktabi calls for acting expeditiously to lift the siege ISIS has laid on the city of Deir Ezzor for nearly two months.
Maktabi also calls for the enforcement of the UN Security Council resolution 2139 which calls for lifting the siege on populated areas and for giving unfettered access to the UN humanitarian agencies to deliver humanitarian aid to civilians trapped in these areas.
“Civilians in Deir Ezzor are caught between two warring parties who are showing utter disregard for all humanitarian and international laws, namely the Assad regime and ISIS,” Maktabi said.
“ISIS has laid siege on the districts of Al-Joura and Al-Qusour in the city of Deir Ezzor for the second month, causing a huge amount of suffering for over 400,000 civilians trapped inside. They prevent entry and exit of civilians, block the entry of food and medical supplies, and cut off communications, power and water. On the other hand, the Assad regime is resupplying its troops stationed inside the city through a nearby air base while failing to do the same for civilians,” Maktabi added.
In order to flee Assad’s barrel bombs, thousands of civilians have sought refuge in the districts of Al-Joura and Al-Qusour which ISIS has failed to capture. (Source: Syrian Coalition)
