The Battle to Control Handarat in Northern Aleppo

Press Statement

Hadi al-Bahra

President of the Syrian Coalition

October 21, 2014

Recently, the Assad regime has intensified its campaign of airstrikes on mostly residential areas across Syria, and particularly in Aleppo. Alongside these air strikes, fierce clashes continue between pro-Assad forces, supported by Hezbollah militias, and the Free Syrian Army (FSA) over the pivotal town of Handarat, northern Aleppo.

We call for substantial support to the FSA which until recently has been fighting both Assad’s forces and ISIS in northern Aleppo. The support is vital to push back Assad’s forces and prevent a potential siege of Aleppo, an imminent danger should the town of Handarat fall to Assad’s forces.

More than 300.000 people in rebel-controlled areas in Aleppo could be subjected to a protracted starvation campaign by Assad’s forces, a tactic the Assad regime has previously used against civilians in the suburbs of Damascus and Homs.

Concrete action must be taken to avert a potential humanitarian catastrophe. Immediate assistance to FSA brigades defending the area will result in saving the lives of many and ensuring that hundreds of thousands of civilians continue to have access to basic necessities, including food and medicine.