Translation by Amaney Neihoum
Original here. Cross-posted from News of the Revolution in Syria.
Damascus suburbs, Moadamiya Levant media office
13 January 2016
Daily summary of happenings in the city
Since morning hours the city has witnessed barrel bomb attacks targeting the city’s southern frontline, and similarly attacks from Shilka trucks targeting residential areas. This led to Assad’s forces, fortified by heavy artillery and tanks, making numerous attempts to advance and take over the frontline, but all attempts were in vain due to the heroic defence by the Free Army which led to causing losses whilst the Shilka vehicles continued to target residential areas until the late hours of this evening.
The humanitarian situation
Humanitarian disaster is about to befall 45,000 civilians, including children, women, the elderly, for the 19th consecutive day.
The Assad forces continue to flex their control by closing the only crossing to the city and denying entry or exit and by denying the entry any relief or humanitarian aid, worsening the humanitarian situation faced by residents. Most of those remaining in the city have not enough to feed their children.
As the humanitarian situation is worsening, there are hundreds of cases of children and the elderly with chronic diseases due to malnutrition and its effects, and also the loss of urgently required medicines.
Every day the siege continues the situation deteriorates further and today marked the death of Saeed Carbouge (15) a special needs child, due to the reduced availability of required medicine and malnutrition and the Assad forces preventing his family from taking him elsewhere, raising the tally of martyrs of the siege up to four today: three children and a 25 year old woman. The health of all of them had deteriorated, and the families were not allowed to take them outside the city to receive treatment.
The medical situation
The medical staff in the city have announced a dire and catastrophic situation due to the loss of important and urgent medical supplies and equipment in the face of increasing numbers of elderly and paediatric patients, and of injuries from the attacks. Their medical situation is worsened by malnutrition and the cut off of specialised medical supplies for their recovery.
Every day dozens of cases visit the centre but with no chance of receiving treatment, and so the siege is about to claim hundreds of children and elderly people by preventing them from leaving the city to get treatment.
Due to the compounding of hardship, the medical staff of the city have asked global humanitarian and medical organisations and the international community to stand up to their full responsibility to stop this punishment, and to work immediately to find ways of bringing in urgently needed medical supplies as fast as possible.
Important videos highlighing the humanitarian situation in the city
A child, Maram, showing effects of siege causing malnutrition and a worsening medical condition.
The elderly face hardship under a siege that gives mercy to neither old nor young.
On the humanitarian situation that families of Moadamiya face due to Assad forces’ siege of the city.
For the world to hear, for those who have a grain of dignity and conscience left: the situation of those under siege.
The attempted advance of Assad’s forces reinforced with tanks, face to face with the cameraman, 11 January 2016.
Heavy artillery and tanks try to attack the southern front line, 13 January 2016.
Watch the criminality: the moment an area is targeted by barrel bombs, 13 January 2016.