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Syria

Deir Al-Zour: The Forgotten City

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INTRODUCTION:

Deir Al-Zour is located in the eastern part of Syria on the Syrian-Iraqi border and is considered the capital of the eastern region.
The Euphrates River passes through it and divides it into two areas:

  • The western region is located west of the Euphrates River and extends towards the desert of Sham and is called the Shamia area.

  • The eastern region is located east of the river and extends north and north-east and is called the Jazeera area.
    Deir Al-lour is about 33,000 km in size and is the second largest governorate in the Syrian Arab Republic. It has a population of 1600,000 people, mainly in rural areas, where the rural population confirm the vast majority of the total population in Deir El-Zour.
    Deir Al-tour is administratively divided into three districts (Deir Al-lour, Al-Mayadin, Al-Bu Kama!), 11 districts and 128 villages Most of the people of Deir al-Zour belong to different clans and tribes. The tribal structure is one of the most difficult social structures in the province, despite the fact that it was exposed to more cracks during the Syrian war years.
    Deir al-lour was one of the first cities to participate in peaceful demonstrations against the Assad regime in March 2011.
    It was one of the first provinces to witness direct armed confrontations between the Free Syrian Army and the regime's forces since early 2012.
    Deir al-lour remained under the control of the Free Army, With the exception of the military airport and a number of neighbourhoods of Deir Al-lour (AI-Jouret-Al-Clusour-Hrabesh), until mid-2014, where the terrorist organization so called Islamic state "IS" after bloody battles could control all areas that were under the control of the Free Army and remained areas controlled by the regime intact.
    Today, three years after the Islamic state's control over most parts of the province, the situation seems catastrophic at all levels in areas under the control of the terrorist organization so called Islamic state "IS".
    Education has been completely inhibited by the "IS". The IS has tried to impose its own educational system and curricula, but failed because of the reluctance of people to send their children to these schools, forced the IS close all schools.
    The health sector suffers from a severe shortage of medical personnel, equipment and medicines, which has been reflected in the reality of health as epidemics began to spread in the province and recorded dozens of cases of poliomyelitis and cases of typhoid and cases of cholera.
    The situation was complicated by the difficulty of accessing accurate information and assessing the situation accurately, due to the limitation which were imposed by the IS.
    The food security sector has been almost paralyzed due to the decline in the cultivation of strategic agricultural crops such as wheat, sugar beet and cotton in addition to seasonal crops. This is due to the severe shortage of seeds and fertilizers in addition to the financial fees imposed by the organization on farmers, those conditions forced lots of farmer to stop farming.
    The same scene is repeated in the field of livestock breeding, where this sector is suffering from the high prices of feed and veterinary medicines. This has been reflected in the economic cycle of the whole province, where agriculture is the pillar of the local economy of this province.
    In areas under the control of Assad Regime, the situation is worse. These areas have been classified since March 2015 as besieged areas after the IS imposed a siege on them and prevented the entry and exit of goods and individuals. The source of supplies is limited to airdrops. However, the Assad regime continued to practice repression and human rights violations in these areas. The regime's military officers took control of the material dumped by the United Nations from the air as an aid , And trafficked by some of his local merchants. The regime also forced civilians to join the army and take them to compulsory military service.