More Than 7,000 People Evacuated From 4 Besieged Syrian Towns
Fua and Kefarya, two Shiite communities in Idlib Province loyal to Mr. Assad, have been surrounded by hard-line Sunni insurgents for about two years.
Madaya and Zabadani, two mostly Sunni towns near Syria’s western border with Lebanon, are
surrounded by Syrian government forces and fighters from Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia.
By BEN HUBBARD and HWAIDA SAADAPRIL 14, 2017
BEIRUT, Lebanon — After nearly two years of punishing siege
and bombardment by their enemies, more than 7,000 people were bused out of four towns in Syria on Friday in the most recent population transfer during six years of war.
"It is creating a permanent rationale for conflict and creating schisms
that are not going to be easy to heal." According to Siege Watch, a project run by The Syria Institute and the Dutch organization PAX, more than 900,000 Syrians are living under siege in 37 areas across the country and more than a million more are under threat of siege.
"We hated even the clothes we have been wearing for the past two years of siege." As the departures proceeded, the foreign ministers of Russia, Syria and Iran warned the United States against any further attacks on the Assad forces, and called for an international investigation of the chemical weapons attack in Idlib
that killed more than 80 people, according to The Associated Press.
In his quest to subdue rebellious communities, Mr. Assad has blockaded rebels along with civilians,
forcing them to agree either to leave or to surrender their arms and reconcile with his government.
The evacuations of civilians and fighters highlighted the prevalence of siege warfare in Syria
and the extent to which prolonged violence has altered the human fabric of communities across the country.
