Latest news with #Damascus
Malay Mail
3 hours ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Wheat becomes battleground as Syria's worst drought in 60 years threatens 16 million
DAMASCUS, June 28 — Rival Syrian and Kurdish producers are scrambling for shrinking wheat harvests as the worst drought in decades follows a devastating war, pushing more than 16 million people toward food insecurity. 'The country has not seen such bad climate conditions in 60 years,' said Haya Abu Assaf, assistant to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) representative in Syria. Syria's water levels have seen 'a very significant drop compared to previous years, which is very worrying', Abu Assaf told AFP, as a relatively short winter rainy season and decreased rainfall take their toll. 'A gap of between 2.5 to 2.7 million tonnes in the wheat crop is expected, meaning that the wheat quantity will not be sufficient to meet local needs,' Abu Assaf said, putting 'around 16.3 million people at risk of food insecurity in Syria this year'. Before the civil war erupted in 2011, Syria was self-sufficient in wheat, producing an average of 4.1 million tonnes annually. Nearly 14 years of conflict have since crippled production and devastated the economy. The FAO estimates that harsh weather has impacted nearly 2.5 million hectares of wheat-growing land. 'Around 75 per cent of the cultivated areas' have been affected, as well as 'natural pastures for livestock production', said Abu Assaf. Imports, competition To bridge the wheat gap, imports would be essential in a country where around 90 per cent of the population lives in poverty. Before his ouster in an Islamist-led offensive in December, Syria's longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad used to rely on ally Russia for wheat. In April, new authorities reported the first wheat shipment since his removal arrived in Latakia port, with more Russian shipments following. Iraq also donated more than 220,000 tonnes of wheat to Syria. During the war, Damascus competed with the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration in the northeast to buy wheat from farmers across fertile lands. Last year, Assad's government priced wheat at US$350 (RM1,480) per tonne, and the Kurds at US$310. After Assad's ouster, Damascus and the Kurds agreed in March to integrate Kurdish-led institutions into the new Syrian state, with negotiations ongoing on implementation. Damascus set wheat prices this month at between US$290 and US$320 per tonne, depending on the quality, plus a US$130 bonus. The Kurdish-led administration offered US$420 per tonne including a US$70 bonus. 'Poverty and hunger' Damascus' agriculture ministry expects a harvest of 300,000 to 350,000 tonnes in government-controlled areas this year. Hassan Othman, director of the Syrian Grain Establishment, acknowledged Syria was not self-sufficient, in comments on state television. But he said authorities were working 'to ensure food security by importing wheat from abroad and milling it in our mills'. In northeast Syria's Amuda, farmer Jamshid Hassu, 65, inspected the tiny wheat grains from his fields, which cover around 200 hectares (around 500 acres). Despite heavy irrigation efforts to offset scarce rainfall, he said, production has halved. The FAO's Abu Assaf said indicators showed that 'about 95 per cent of rain-fed wheat has been damaged and affected', while irrigated wheat yields were down 30 to 40 per cent. Hassu, who has been farming for four decades, said he had to pump water from depths of more than 160 metres (525 feet) to sustain his crops as groundwater levels plunge. Agriculture remains a vital income source in rural Syria, but without urgent support, farmers face ruin. 'Without support, we will not be able to continue,' Hassu warned. 'People will suffer from poverty and hunger.' — AFP
Malay Mail
4 hours ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Wheat turns battleground as Syria's worst drought in 60 years threatens 16 million
DAMASCUS, June 28 — Rival Syrian and Kurdish producers are scrambling for shrinking wheat harvests as the worst drought in decades follows a devastating war, pushing more than 16 million people toward food insecurity. 'The country has not seen such bad climate conditions in 60 years,' said Haya Abu Assaf, assistant to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) representative in Syria. Syria's water levels have seen 'a very significant drop compared to previous years, which is very worrying', Abu Assaf told AFP, as a relatively short winter rainy season and decreased rainfall take their toll. 'A gap of between 2.5 to 2.7 million tonnes in the wheat crop is expected, meaning that the wheat quantity will not be sufficient to meet local needs,' Abu Assaf said, putting 'around 16.3 million people at risk of food insecurity in Syria this year'. Before the civil war erupted in 2011, Syria was self-sufficient in wheat, producing an average of 4.1 million tonnes annually. Nearly 14 years of conflict have since crippled production and devastated the economy. The FAO estimates that harsh weather has impacted nearly 2.5 million hectares of wheat-growing land. 'Around 75 per cent of the cultivated areas' have been affected, as well as 'natural pastures for livestock production', said Abu Assaf. Imports, competition To bridge the wheat gap, imports would be essential in a country where around 90 per cent of the population lives in poverty. Before his ouster in an Islamist-led offensive in December, Syria's longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad used to rely on ally Russia for wheat. In April, new authorities reported the first wheat shipment since his removal arrived in Latakia port, with more Russian shipments following. Iraq also donated more than 220,000 tonnes of wheat to Syria. During the war, Damascus competed with the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration in the northeast to buy wheat from farmers across fertile lands. Last year, Assad's government priced wheat at US$350 (RM1,480) per tonne, and the Kurds at US$310. After Assad's ouster, Damascus and the Kurds agreed in March to integrate Kurdish-led institutions into the new Syrian state, with negotiations ongoing on implementation. Damascus set wheat prices this month at between US$290 and US$320 per tonne, depending on the quality, plus a US$130 bonus. The Kurdish-led administration offered US$420 per tonne including a US$70 bonus. 'Poverty and hunger' Damascus' agriculture ministry expects a harvest of 300,000 to 350,000 tonnes in government-controlled areas this year. Hassan Othman, director of the Syrian Grain Establishment, acknowledged Syria was not self-sufficient, in comments on state television. But he said authorities were working 'to ensure food security by importing wheat from abroad and milling it in our mills'. In northeast Syria's Amuda, farmer Jamshid Hassu, 65, inspected the tiny wheat grains from his fields, which cover around 200 hectares (around 500 acres). Despite heavy irrigation efforts to offset scarce rainfall, he said, production has halved. The FAO's Abu Assaf said indicators showed that 'about 95 per cent of rain-fed wheat has been damaged and affected', while irrigated wheat yields were down 30 to 40 per cent. Hassu, who has been farming for four decades, said he had to pump water from depths of more than 160 metres (525 feet) to sustain his crops as groundwater levels plunge. Agriculture remains a vital income source in rural Syria, but without urgent support, farmers face ruin. 'Without support, we will not be able to continue,' Hassu warned. 'People will suffer from poverty and hunger.' — AFP
The National
9 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
UN commission says Syria must end violence against Alawites and protect places of worship
The head of a UN investigative commission on Friday called commitments made by the new authorities in Syria to protect the rights of minorities 'encouraging' but said attacks have continued on members of the Alawite sect in the months since a major outbreak of sectarian violence on Syria's coast. Paulo Pinheiro, the head of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that the current Syrian government – led by Islamist former insurgents who ousted former Syrian president Bashar Al Assad – had given his team 'unfettered access' to the coast and to witnesses of the violence and victims' families. 'Disturbingly, reports continue to circulate of continuing killings and arbitrary arrests of members of the Alawite community, as well as the confiscation of the property of those who fled the March violence,' he said. Mr Pinheiro's commission also 'documented abductions by unknown individuals of at least six Alawite women this spring in several Syrian governorates', two of whom remain missing, and has received 'credible reports of more abductions', he said. He also called on authorities to put in place more protections for places of worship after Sunday's suicide bombing attack on a church outside of Damascus. The attack, which killed at least 25 people and wounded dozens more, was the first of its kind to take place in the Syrian capital in years. The Syrian government has said that the perpetrators belonged to an ISIS cell and that they thwarted a subsequent attempt to target a Shiite shrine in the Sayyida Zeinab suburb in Damascus. 'Attacks on places of worship are outrageous and unacceptable,' Mr Pinheiro said. 'The authorities must ensure the protection of places of worship and threatened communities and ensure that perpetrators and enablers are held accountable.' Mr Al Assad was deposed in a lightning rebel offensive in December, bringing an end to a nearly 14-year civil war. In March, hundreds of civilians, most of them from the Alawite minority to which Mr Al Assad belongs, were killed in revenge attacks after clashes broke out between pro-Assad armed groups and the new government security forces on the Syrian coast. Mr Pinheiro said his commission had documented scattered 'revenge attacks' that happened before that, including killings in several villages in Hama and Homs provinces in late January in which men who had handed over their weapons under a 'settlement' process set up for former soldiers and members of security forces under Assad, believing that they would be granted an amnesty in exchange for disarmament, were then 'ill-treated and executed". He praised the interim government's formation of a body tasked with investigating the attacks on the coast and said government officials had told his team that 'dozens of alleged perpetrators' were arrested. Mr Pinheiro said the government needs to carry out a 'reform and vetting programme' as it integrates a patchwork of former rebel factions into a new army and security services and enact 'concrete policies to put an end to Syria's entrenched cycles of violence and revenge, in a context where heightened tensions and sectarian divisions have been reignited".
Arab News
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Arab News
UN commission says Syria must end violence against Alawites and protect places of worship
BEIRUT: The head of a UN investigative commission on Friday called commitments made by the new authorities in Syria to protect the rights of minorities 'encouraging' but said attacks have continued on members of the Alawite sect in the months since a major outbreak of sectarian violence on Syria's coast. Paulo Pinheiro, the head of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told a meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that the current Syrian government — led by Islamist former insurgents who ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad — had given his team 'unfettered access' to the coast and to witnesses of the violence and victims' families. 'Disturbingly, reports continue to circulate of ongoing killings and arbitrary arrests of members of the Alawite community, as well as the confiscation of the property of those who fled the March violence,' he said. Pinheiro's commission also 'documented abductions by unknown individuals of at least six Alawite women this spring in several Syrian governorates,' two of whom remain missing, and has received 'credible reports of more abductions,' he said. Pinheiro also called on authorities to put in place more protections for places of worship after Sunday's suicide bombing attack on a church outside of Damascus. The attack, which killed at least 25 people and wounded dozens more, was the first of its kind to take place in the Syrian capital in years. The Syrian government has said that the perpetrators belonged to a cell of the Daesh group and that they thwarted a subsequent attempt to target a Shiite shrine in the Sayyida Zeinab suburb in Damascus. 'Attacks on places of worship are outrageous and unacceptable,' Pinheiro said. 'The authorities must ensure the protection of places of worship and threatened communities and ensure that perpetrators and enablers are held accountable.' Assad was deposed in a lightning rebel offensive in December, bringing an end to a nearly 14-year civil war. In March, hundreds of civilians, most of them from the Alawite minority to which Assad belongs, were killed in revenge attacks after clashes broke out between pro-Assad armed groups and the new government security forces on the Syrian coast. Pinheiro said his commission had documented scattered 'revenge attacks' that happened before that, including killings in several villages in Hama and Homs provinces in late January in which men who had handed over their weapons under a 'settlement' process set up for former soldiers and members of security forces under Assad, believing that they would be granted an amnesty in exchange for disarmament, were then 'ill-treated and executed.' He praised the interim government's formation of a body tasked with investigating the attacks on the coast and said government officials had told his team that 'dozens of alleged perpetrators' were arrested. Pinheiro said the government needs to carry out a 'reform and vetting program' as it integrates a patchwork of former rebel factions into a new army and security services and enact 'concrete policies to put an end to Syria's entrenched cycles of violence and revenge, in a context where heightened tensions and sectarian divisions have been reignited.'
The Independent
10 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
UN commission says Syria must end violence against Alawites and protect places of worship
The head of a U.N. investigative commission on Friday called commitments made by the new authorities in Syria to protect the rights of minorities 'encouraging' but said attacks have continued on members of the Alawite sect in the months since a major outbreak of sectarian violence on Syria's coast. Paulo Pinheiro, the head of the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Syria, told a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva that the current Syrian government — led by Islamist former insurgents who ousted former Syrian President Bashar Assad — had given his team 'unfettered access' to the coast and to witnesses of the violence and victims' families. 'Disturbingly, reports continue to circulate of ongoing killings and arbitrary arrests of members of the Alawite community, as well as the confiscation of the property of those who fled the March violence,' he said. Pinheiro's commission also 'documented abductions by unknown individuals of at least six Alawite women this spring in several Syrian governorates,' two of whom remain missing, and has received 'credible reports of more abductions,' he said. Pinheiro also called on authorities to put in place more protections for places of worship after Sunday's suicide bombing attack on a church outside of Damascus. The attack, which killed at least 25 people and wounded dozens more, was the first of its kind to take place in the Syrian capital in years. The Syrian government has said that the perpetrators belonged to a cell of the Islamic State group and that they thwarted a subsequent attempt to target a Shiite shrine in the Sayyida Zeinab suburb in Damascus. 'Attacks on places of worship are outrageous and unacceptable,' Pinheiro said. 'The authorities must ensure the protection of places of worship and threatened communities and ensure that perpetrators and enablers are held accountable.' Assad was deposed in a lightning rebel offensive in December, bringing an end to a nearly 14-year civil war. In March, hundreds of civilians, most of them from the Alawite minority to which Assad belongs, were killed in revenge attacks after clashes broke out between pro-Assad armed groups and the new government security forces on the Syrian coast. Pinheiro said his commission had documented scattered 'revenge attacks' that happened before that, including killings in several villages in Hama and Homs provinces in late January in which men who had handed over their weapons under a 'settlement' process set up for former soldiers and members of security forces under Assad, believing that they would be granted an amnesty in exchange for disarmament, were then 'ill-treated and executed.' He praised the interim government's formation of a body tasked with investigating the attacks on the coast and said government officials had told his team that 'dozens of alleged perpetrators' were arrested. Pinheiro said the government needs to carry out a 'reform and vetting program' as it integrates a patchwork of former rebel factions into a new army and security services and enact 'concrete policies to put an end to Syria's entrenched cycles of violence and revenge, in a context where heightened tensions and sectarian divisions have been reignited.'
