Baladi News – Jassim al-Sayyed
In the Syrian city of Manbij, east from Aleppo, over 200 thousand people are living under very bad circumstances due to the blockade imposed by Syria’s Democratic Forces Militia for two weeks.
The blockade resulted in almost a complete depletion of foodstuffs, including the very basic ones such as bread, rice, and ghee. In addition, the bombardment of the coalition forces as well as Syria’s Democratic Forces caused damages to the electricity system feeding the city, which also cut off water supply.
According to Ali Abu-Salim, a resident in the besieged city, vegetables and fruit almost ran out, and people are relying on basic foodstuffs such as rice, bulgur, and bread, and using water unsafe reservoirs for drinking to stay alive after the city's water supplies had been cut off a week earlier.
Another citizen, Abu Yassin, told Baladi News that the city is suffering from severe shortages of medicine and baby milk, because most of the doctors had fled the city shortly before the blockade was imposed.
Manbij is one of the most important cities in regard of water and electricity supplies due to its proximity to Euphrates River, where Tishreen Dam which feeds many areas with water and electricity, was established.
The former head of the city’s local council, Dr. Imad al-Din Hunaizel, clarified that the battles between the Islamic State and Syria’s Democratic Forces (SDF) damaged water and electricity network in the city, especially after SDF gained control on al-Kara’a water pumping station that distribute water to the city, which caused the station to go out of order.
Hunaizel added that Manbij battles caused absolute power outage, indicating that there are 200 thousands of indigenous and refugee families unable to leave the city due to the total blockade by SDF.