A/HRC/27/60 followed. Also facing blockades of life-sustaining necessities, people fled towards the border. Government forces use the denial and obstruction of food and other items indispensable to the survival of the civilian population as a tool to clear restive areas and further military objectives. 122. In Yarmouk and eastern Ghouta (Damascus and Rif Damascus), Government forces continue to encircle 180,000 people, subjecting them to heavy shelling and obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid. The siege on Yarmouk is imposed by Government forces including elements from Palestine Branch 235 and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Checkpoints surrounding eastern Ghouta are manned by elite units, including the 4th Division, Republican Guard and 3rd Division. 123. Sieges are imposed in a coordinated manner. Soldiers at checkpoints regularly conduct arbitrary arrests, confiscate food and other basic supplies, and prevent sick and wounded persons from seeking medical attention. Al-Waer, Houlah, Rastan and Talbisah in Homs remain besieged, with dire consequences for the people trapped within. The protracted denial of humanitarian aid, including food, has led to malnutrition and starvation. The use of starvation as a method of warfare is prohibited. Such acts violate core obligations with regard to the right to adequate food, the right to the highest attainable standard of health and the right to life. 124. Across the Syrian Arab Republic, Government forces have refused to allow aid deliveries of essential medicines and surgical supplies. As an immediate consequence, field hospitals lack basic necessities and can offer only rudimentary medical treatment. Doctors and patients described the crude conditions and inadequate supplies and equipment in field hospitals in Aleppo city, Tafas (Dara’a), Kisweh and Zabadani (Rif Damascus). The sole hospital in Beit Jin (Rif Damascus), shelled by Government forces since March, is run by one doctor. In continuing a policy of denying medical care on the grounds that it may be used to treat injured combatants, Government authorities act in direct breach of binding international humanitarian law obligations to ensure that wounded and sick persons are collected and cared for, and to ensure the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief. 125. Violence has severely impaired civilians’ freedom of movement, causing many to restrict their activities outside the home. Many women relayed the despair of being trapped indoors because of insecurity and fear of injury from indiscriminate bombardment. Men are fearful of travelling through checkpoints to access their workplaces and medical assistance owing to the risk of detention and disappearance. Women and men in agricultural areas, such as Sahl Al-Ghab (Hama and Idlib) and Houlah (Homs) suffer without access to their livelihoods or sustenance. 2. (a) Non-State armed groups Anti-Government armed groups 126. Armed groups, including the Islamic Front, Jaish al-Mujahideen and Jabhat al-Nusra continue to besiege Nubl and Zahra (Aleppo) and have cut off their electricity and water supply. 127. In April, essential infrastructure in Aleppo city was damaged in the course of hostilities. Between 5 and 14 May, the electrical grid and water supply were deliberately impaired by Jabhat al-Nusra, depriving civilians of access to potable water and sanitation. International humanitarian law prohibits attacking, destroying, removing or rendering useless objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population. Such acts violate the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation. 20