AsiaNews sources describe life in the capital where the war has devastated even the wealthiest families. Thousands of people survive on the meager government subsidies. To overcome the winter people have deforested the public parks. Six hour queues for a piece of bread and a liter of petrol.

Damascus (AsiaNews) - The war between rebels and regime of Bashar al-Assad has brought  even Damascus to its knees after having first devastated Aleppo the economic center of the country where the army and Islamist militias clash even in the alleys of the old town. According to AsiaNews sources there are no supplies in the capital and major cities still in the hands of the government, but people survive thanks to rations from the regime. Every day, people are forced to queue for even five or six hours straight to get a few liters of petrol and a few pounds of bread. The price of basic necessities is very high.

Until now, the regime has maintained at 75 cents per liter for fuel prices, but more and more people are forced to stock up on the black market, where costs are also ten times higher.

Even bread is an increasingly rare commodity. People can "choose" between the standard which costs about 16 cents, but is of little nutritional value, or the "tourist" brand paying a price even four times higher. It takes up to two weeks to get a canister of gas and the cost is around  7 dollars. The winter months have brought misery and suffering even among the richest families. Many people died from the cold. To warm themselves people cut down the trees of public parks and sacrificed furniture. Local sources say that the situation is even worse in areas under rebel control, where everything is run by the black market.

In areas controlled by the rebels, the situation is on the edge of survival. In the Kherbet al-Khaldiyé refugee camp in the province of Aleppo, the people consisting mainly of women, elderly and children have nothing to eat. "We're ripping the grass from the field - says Naida, 35, a mother of seven children - mint, purple grass, and cook it. We have nothing to eat." She said that aid only arrives a few times each month. "Once we were brought a kilo of potatoes - she says - but it had to suffice for more than a month. We had to survive with a potato per person per week." Muhannad Hadi, head of the World Food Programme (WFP) stresses that it is almost impossible to move aid across the Syrian territory. The warehouses are often at the center of the cross-fire between the regime and the rebels. The situation is particularly critical in areas of conflict. Some opposition groups control the areas where WFP is able to have access and where millions of people are in need of food. The rebels control the stores and have also taken over some dams for drinking water. Many refugees are forced to use puddles to wash and for drinking water.

Despite the devastated economy, most analysts argue that the regime will survive for at least another year. So far Assad has exploited the approximately 17 billion dollars accumulated during the oil boom of the 90s, but it is almost exhausted. The President still has approximately 4.5 billion dollars that would allow him to balance the losses which are the result of the sanctions of the international community, which amount to approximately 400 million dollars per month. (S.C.)

 

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