Deir Ezzor Under Siege: 8th Month Report
A monthly report written by Deir Ezzor Under Siege detailing the living situation, the price of basic staples, the health sector, and the security situation in Deir Ezzor. The original report can be found here.
1- Areas of the regime’s control:
1.1 Living situation:
The blockade continues on areas (Al-Jourah – Al-Qosoor – Al-Bghaileyyeh – Harabesh) for the eighth consecutive month where there is a semi-lack of the essential food supplies due to the regime’s refusal of the local and international organizations’ –on top of which is the Red Cross- demands and pleas to use Deir Ezzor’s airport to open up an air bridge to aid the entry of supplies in addition to ISIS’s tightening and closing the land routes and water ports, the death of three people among which is a widow and a child due to lack of nourishment, as well as tens of blackout cases were recorded.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent, Deir Ezzor branch said on its official page on Facebook on the 12th of August 2015 that they could enter a shipment of food supplies which will be distributed as food baskets, each one weighs 13.700 kg.
The campaign was informed from its sources that the shipment is 2 tons of food supplies which weren’t distributed yet (before preparing this report)
The regime has decided on the 22nd of August 2015 to stop taking leaving-requests by the civilians and that decision is still in force as of the date of preparing this report.
Markets and malls are still almost empty with very small amounts of food once or twice a week which is not sufficient to any more than 40% of civilians in those areas.
Food material prices came as follows:
Bread price per pack 100 SYP.
Rice one kilo 2500 SYP.
“Lentil” one kilo 1500 SYP.
Canned food, one can 1000 SYP.
Eggplants one kilo 1000 SYP.
Capsicum one kilo 1600 SYP.
1.2 The health sector:
Degradation of the health sector is continuing in the besieged neighborhoods where the campaign recorded between 70 to 100 cases of Anemia which are being received daily at the governmental Al-Assad hospital in addition to 20 infections with Hepatitis A and B monthly, the campaign also recorded the deaths of 6 people due to lack of medical care and the lack of medicines, including children and women.
Also a number of pharmacists closed their drugstores/pharmacies so that they could sell drugs in other places for a high price after they managed to secure a number of pharmaceuticals lost through dealers associated with the security.
The campaign recorded the death of 70-year-old and another due to his medical condition which began to appear at the beginning of July, a sudden swelling of the body accompanied by Cyanosis (blueish color) and death after two to three weeks of infection. This is a new case surfaced after seven months of the siege and lack of nourishment which civilians are suffering from.
The campaign recorded the death of a girl from Deir Ezzor in Salqin suburbs due to Typhoid fever and not receiving proper treatment.
1.3 Security situation:
ISIS continue the shelling of besieged areas by mortar and artillery shells targeting civilian lives and properties where the campaign recorded the deaths of five people, including two women and many other wounded.
The regime tries to attract volunteers to the ranks of his militia as news emerged of his intention to restructure the national defense militia and change its name to the Syrian Hezbollah. And he has already made several attempts to lure civilians to volunteer, but all failed, and the campaign recorded the death of Commander of clans’ militia in Deir Ezzor of the regime forces during a battle with ISIS.
In the eighth month, the campaign recorded the death of six people from Deir Ezzor under torture in the Syrian prisons, in addition to the deaths of two civilians from Deir Ezzor by the hands of the Jordanian army when they tried to enter Jordan.
2- Regions under ISIS control:
2.1 Security situation:
The international coalition has continued to target ISIS headquarters where it targeted the Hisbah center in Al-Mayadeen city and it targeted a number of civilian houses which ISIS members and leaders are living, The coalition targeted ISIS centers in Al-Boukamal city as well.
On the other hand the regime air force continued to attack areas outside of its control. The campaign recorded the death of 13 people due to that, among which are 4 children and two ladies and a big number of wounded in addition to material damages.
ISIS did not stop the executions of detainees in their prisons as well as those who offend the orders and all of those he doesn’t feel safe around. The campaign recorded ISIS’s execution of 29 people among which is a woman and 5 Iraqis, based on the same charges and accusations, apostasy (atheism), spying for the regime, working with armed battalions, magic and sorcery.
ISIS suffered huge casualties in this month, whether it be from the coalition’s raids or the battles that ISIS is waging in Deir Ezzor and beyond. The campaign recorded the deaths of 10 members from ISIS children of Deir Ezzor, which made ISIS intensify their propaganda to recruit new civilians to make up for the shortage they began to suffer from, and which affects their fighting operations.
The campaign recorded the suicide operation in Iraq done by a child from ISIS, where ISIS has turned recently to recruiting children to make up for the shortage in the numbers of its fighters and because it’s much easier to attract and convince a child.
The campaign followed the situation of the children of Deir ezzor who are fighting alongside the armed battalions in Aleppo, Idlib and Al-Kalamoon. Where the campaign recorded the deaths of 11 people and a case of human suffering experienced by some of the fighters and their families because of the negligence of their battalions and not practicing equality with other fighters.
The campaign recorded the death of one guy from Deir ezzor belonging to the militia system in the battles between ISIS and the Syrian regime in the Al-Qareteen city.
ISIS issued a general statement compelling those who had previously joined armed battalions, defectors from the regime army, workers in relief and medical organizations, local council members and those who had left the regime controlled areas to see the Security Office in Hatlah village, which appear to be an attempt to build a database of mentioned areas and categories to make it easier to monitor them and recruit them later in the future.
ISIS launched mass arrests this month targeting former militants and former activists where many of them were unaccounted for and have unknown whereabouts at the moment.
2.2 The health sector:
ISIS issued a series of decisions relating to the medical and health sector infrastructure which came as follows:
ISIS decided to punish every doctor who gives a medical report to its members and the report comes false, where ISIS members are trying to get reports to escape going to frontlines and fighting fronts.
Al-Boukamal city’s doctors were forced by ISIS to full-time presence in the Red Crescent center after ISIS took over.
The campaign recorded the death of a woman at the age of 21 in Al-Bsayreh neighborhood under ISIS’s control after she was diagnosed with Meningitis disease, as well as some cases of panic was recorded among people because of the high number of people bitten by dogs, the number reached 22 people and the unfortunate lack of appropriate vaccine or adequate medical crews was another reason for panic.
3- Miscellaneous:
ISIS has conducted a range of adjustments in the leadership positions in Deir Ezzor, where they set a number of people who are of absolute loyalty in the most sensitive positions.
ISIS issued Al-Naba’ newspaper in Al-Boukamal city, it’s a weekly published newspaper which posts news about ISIS and promotes its ideology.
ISIS whipped three women in Deir Ezzor city for the accusation of failing to comply with the Islamic dress-code imposed by ISIS since its entry.
ISIS closed the automatic bakery in Al-Boukamal city after it imposed high fines and the owners were unable to pay, which resulted in a severe and suffocating bread crisis in the city.
ISIS continued to prevent Internet wifi/routers in a number of areas including Abu-Kamal city and the entire western suburbs of Deir Ezzor.