Badr Jamous, member of the Political Committee, said that the siege laid by regime forces on the town of Al Tal in rural Damascus, home to more than 1.2 million refugees from Eastern Ghouta, violates human rights laws which call for protection of refugees and civilians. A reliable source stated that the town of Al Tal came under air raids on August 22nd, and that panicked residents tried to flee the town but their road was blocked by regime’s security checkpoints surrounding the town. Only college students and government employees are allowed to leave the town, while regime forces prevented trucks loaded with vegetables, flour and baby milk from entering the town. The situation got worse after pro-regime militiamen entered the nearby towns of Ayn Menin and Talfita and looted or set many houses on fire. It is worth noting that the regime forces’ the storming of the towns of Ayn Menin and Talfita caused the displacement of a large number of people from the two towns amid shortages of relief aid due to the blockade imposed on the town and rising fears of the spillover of battles to it.” (Source: Syrian Coalition)