Crisis overview
An estimated 50,000 people in Moadamiyah and Darayya towns in Darayya district, Rural Damascus governorate, are facing an increasingly deteriorating humanitarian situation. In late December, following a demand for opposition groups in the area to surrender, government forces closed the last open road to Moadamiyah town. The towns cannot be reached by humanitarian organisations, and commercial supply routes are completely shut down.
Key findings
Anticipated scope and scale: Humanitarian needs in Moadamiyah and Darayya, besieged by government forces, are expected to increase in severity the longer the towns are cut off from their surroundings. Severe shortages of food and medicine are reported, and an unverified number of deaths linked to starvation has been reported. Frequent government airstrikes are further exacerbating the humanitarian situation.
Priorities for humanitarian intervention:
- Food assistance
- Nutritional supplies
- Healthcare provision
Humanitarian constraints: Humanitarian access is extremely constrained in the besieged areas of Rural Damascus. Moadamiyah has not been reached by assistance since late December 2015, while UN agencies have been unable to reach Darayya since 2012.