A/HRC/25/65 133. As at January 2014, 160,000 people were besieged in the towns of Dumah, Arbin, Zamalka, Kafr Batna, Harasta, Jisreen, Saqba and Al-Mliha in eastern Ghouta (Damascus countryside). The denial of food as a military strategy in this agricultural area began during July and August 2013, when crops and farms were shelled and burned. As the siege was tightened, government forces blocked access roads and systematically confiscated food, fuel and medicine at checkpoints. A woman, who fled in mid-September and had not eaten meat or fresh vegetables for more than a year, reported how soldiers at checkpoints would harass anyone caught carrying food and destroy it on suspicion that they were “aligned with the opposition”. In October, soldiers at the Al-Mliha “Tamico” checkpoint detained a woman because she was carrying bread hidden under her clothes. Also in October, a woman attempting to bring in food for her family was harassed by security officers at a checkpoint near Douma and told, “you people will be looking for food like dogs”. Snipers targeted persons who attempted to leave or enter eastern Ghouta without passing through checkpoints. 134. By early October, residents relied on bulgur wheat, rice and tree leaves as substitutes for vegetables to survive. To date, water is available sporadically and in insufficient quantities. The Government has repeatedly refused to approve the delivery of surgical supplies in humanitarian shipments. This deliberate obstruction of medical supplies has led to harrowing conditions for the sick and wounded. One injured man described how doctors used material from flour sacks for bandages for patients. Government checkpoints prevented those in need from leaving eastern Ghouta to seek medical treatment. Both those needing emergency treatment and with chronic medical conditions were denied medical access, resulting in deaths. (a) Muadamiyah 135. Prior to the military truce in December 2013, 12,000 people were trapped inside Muadamiyah. The area was besieged from the east and the north by the 4th Division stationed near Mezzeh Airport, and from the south and west by the Presidential Guard near Jdaydet Artuz. Once routes from Dara’a to Muadamiyah were blocked on 20 April, food supplies were cut off, leading to gradual malnutrition and starvation. Residents described surviving off olives, tree leaves, wild grass and herbs once bulgur wheat and rice supplied had run out. The water supply was cut off for weeks at a time. A resident of Muadamiyah described the humiliation and agony of starvation, explaining that, when her three-year-old son was killed in late May, “my child died hungry”. 136. Children suffering from illnesses and shrapnel injuries had no access to food or medication, resulting in their premature death. Many health-care personnel, including most midwives, have fled. Owing to lack of food, nursing mothers were unable to feed their newborns, leading to malnutrition and at least one death. Government forces had sealed the area and positioned snipers targeting those trying to flee. 137. On 13 October, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the International Committee of the Red Cross supervised the evacuation of 3,500 civilians from Muadamiyah. During the evacuation, women and children were separated from the men, many of whom were screened at Mezzeh Airport. Several were arrested and detained. Many fighting-age men remained inside, fearing being arrested, killed or “disappeared” by Government forces. During subsequent evacuations, on 15 and 29 October, 5,000 more people left Muadamiyah. Despite the truce on 25 December, Muadamiyah remains besieged and no humanitarian access has been granted. (b) Daraya 138. In Daraya, surrounded to the east by Mezzeh Airport and by Sahnaya to the southwest, 8,000 people remain under siege. Government personnel at checkpoints arrested 20