Hundreds protest Aleppo siege as Assad regime weaponises hunger

Hundreds of residents in northern Syria's Aleppo province demonstrated on Sunday against a regime-imposed siege on Kurdish-majority areas.

Protesters from the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods, controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, have called for an end to the Fourth Division's weaponisation of food, The New Arab’s Arabic-language service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

The Fourth Division, led by Bashar Al-Assad's brother Maher, require civilians to present ID cards upon entering and leaving their neighbourhoods and demand money from cars crossing the areas, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

They also prevent necessities, such as flour and fuel, from entering the neighbourhoods.

Residents in the besieged areas have resorted to burning waste to keep warm and cook food due to fuel, activist Muhammad al-Shamali told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Residents have been forced to search for alternatives to flour due to shortage.

The siege has been enforced to turn the population against the SDF and pressure Kurdish-led authorities to hand over the neighhourhoods to regime rule.

The US-backed SDF are the military arm of the Autonomous Authority of North East Syria (AANES), which faces threats from the Syrian regime, Turkey and the Islamic State group.

Turkish President Erdogan has been threatening to launch a new incursion into northern Syria to push out Kurdish forces which he blames for a November bomb blast in Istanbul.

SDF commanders have warned that up to a million people could be displaced if Turkey carries out its threats in Northern Syria.