ALEPPO
Inmates of Syria’s Aleppo Central Prison are urging for assistance, as many continue to die of starvation and malnutrition, an inmate tells the Anadolu Agency.
Syrian opposition forces released several hundred inmates in a firefight with regime troops on 6 February. The prison, which opposition forces have laid siege to for almost a year, has become a military base for the Syrian army. However, it still has 4,000 prisoners in cells, surviving on small amounts of food a day.
One of the inmates, who witnessed the large scale assault from the opposition, said they heard an explosion at 11am, following four hours of conflict. During the takeover, many inmates could not be saved, and Syrian soldiers were left injured. Up to 300 prisoners were released during the 6 February operation however.
The prison has been under siege by Syria’s opposition since April 2013, and is under control of soldiers and an armed militia group from the Bashar al-Assad regime, known as Shabiha.
As well as inmates dying of starvation, many more have contracted fatal diseases, the inmate, known as AT, told AA. Six hundred and nine inmates have died of starvation so far, and on average two-to-three people die a day.
“As far as I know 500 inmates were released after soldiers and opposition forces reached an agreement. Whenever the opposition forces blaze at the guards' section, soldiers start firing at the inmates' section, that's why so many inmates were killed,” said A.T.
A.T. recalls an incident where one of the guards launched a grenade into the crowd, which left many dead and wounded, due to inmates being exposed to acts which the guard was ashamed of.
Bodies of 629 people have been buried in the garden in the eastern part of the prison, which has since become a graveyard, A.T says. Several people are dying due to lack of aid, and inmates are looking “like bones”. In addition, some of the hostages are suffering from tuberculosis.
A.T said that 258 of the inmates are women and children aged between 15-18.
Opposition forces have reached an agreement with guards and soldiers to put an end to the massacre, and prisoners are urging non-governmental organizations to rescue them from the Central prison, A.T said.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
