Translation by Yusra Ahmed

(Damascus)- Qaboun, the northern suburb of Damascus, is still under severe siege despite cease-fire agreement reached two years ago in February 2014, nothing has been changed, residents and activists say.

The 'cessation of hostilities' that come into effect at the agreed time of midnight on Saturday (2200 GMT Friday), would be a good tidings for Qaboun's people and most Syrians.

Qaboun was one of the first areas to join the peaceful demonstrations in March 2011 ans it was the first suburbs to join the battle of Damascus "Damascus Volacano" in July 2012.

But but the regime brutally rocked al-Qaboun with heavy shelling and conducted ground incursion.

Latest breach of the truce was last Tuesday when the regime had shelled the neighborhood resulted in killing two and many injured.

Regime breached the truce only 3 months after signing he truce in February 2014 with a bloody massacre when it hit a wedding party, killing 13 civilians and injuring 80 one.

Two months later, Hayat primary school was shelled killing 17 children in their classes.
The truce in February 2014 after 7 months of fighting included freeing a number of detainees from regime’s prisons, handing middle size weapons, establishing barriers for from both sides in the neighborhood and regime forces must leave its areas in the neighborhood.

Despite the truce, people in Qaboun still suffer of siege and lack of essential living needs like water and electricity, even they are not able to provide electricity generators because of lack of fuel to run them, a resident explained.

Getting the food is another suffering of residents in Qaboun, as the regime’s barriers do not let food inside the neighborhood from Barza, claiming that they would smuggle them via tunnels to rebels on Eastern Ghouta.

Preventing the fuel have worsened the crisis, especially in winter and cold weather as the price of one litre of diesel reached to 325 Syrian pounds, which forced people to use wood for heating and cooking, but still it is not cheap, as prices reach to 110 Syrian pound per kilogram.

Sources mentioned that many cases of arresting took place on barriers, as regime forces tend to humiliate and swear to women in front of their relatives to provoke them forb rawl, and some time they accuse young men of supporting rebels inside the neighborhood, despite it is well know that most residents are people displaced from the Eastern Ghouta district.

Qanoun, 6 km to the North East of Damascus, of 100 thousand people, was one of the first areas to join the peaceful revolution in 2011, and the first to join the battle of Damascus in July 2012. Strong battle started in mid 2013 between rebels and the regime forces, ended up in Truce in February 2014m but there was big breaches of the truce.

Original residents were displaced and significant number of them sought asylum outside the country and Europe. After truce, the neighborhood has become a sort of safe place to people displaced from the Eastern Ghouta.