Sat 04 April 2020:
The Syrian regime on Thursday sealed off the town of Sayyida Zainab, claiming it was a precautionary measure against coronavirus as the Damascus suburb is “densely populated”, according to state news agency SANA.
The regime still claims that there are only 16 cases in the whole country, including just one in the Rif Dimashq governate where Sayyida Zainab is located. The one case resulted in a death, according to official figures.
Foreign pro-regime fighters, mainly Shia militiamen, are known to reside in Sayyida Zainab, but the statement made no mention of this.
Syria was among the last countries in Asia to officially register any cases of Covid-19, arousing suspicions that there had been a government cover-up, especially as many fighters from Iran, which has been especially hard-hit by the virus, have been coming into Syria.
Rumours circulated in early March that Iranian militiamen had caused an outbreak of coronavirus among Syrian regime soldiers, but these were never proved accurate.
Syria’s harsh authoritarian regime however allows for little transparency around such issues.
However, authorities insist there are no more Covid-19 cases in Mneen but have still imposed a near-total lockdown on the town, including restrictions on imports of food and fuel, according to Syria expert Elizabeth Tsurkov.
Tsurkov tweeted that locals had complained that officials have been taking shares of vegetables, diesel and gas for themselves from supplies that were meant to be distributed among the town’s residents.
She also warned that Mneen is located near the “gargantuan” prison Sednaya known to hold political detainees in dire conditions.
Human rights groups have warned about the catastrophic impact a coronavirus outbreak could have in Syria’s detention facilities, which as notoriously overcrowded and unsanitary, and where starvation, torture and disease is rife.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
