A/HRC/36/55 Annex III Life under siege and truces 1. In the Damascus countryside mountain town of Madaya, the Commission first documented Government forces using starvation as a weapon of war in late 2015. 1 Government forces alongside Hizbullah encircled Madaya in June 2015 as part of a military offensive against the neighbouring town of Zabadani, tightening their siege around Madaya in September, and imposing a complete blockade on goods into Madaya, Zabadani, and neighbouring Bqine. Anti-personnel landmines were used to trap civilians inside Madaya, while pro-Government snipers shot at those attempting to reach the water spring in Bqine, including young children. By December 2015, residents in Madaya resorted to eating grass, leaves, and cats which religious leaders were forced to officially sanction as permissible (halal). Others recalled drinking boiled water seasoned with salt and cumin for breakfast and dinner to stave off hunger pangs. 2. In March 2015, armed groups primarily under the Jaish al-Fatah formation overtook Idlib city and laid siege to the predominantly Shi’a towns of Fu’ah and Kafraya. They immediately cut-off water and electricity to the besieged population. Though Government forces were occasionally able to airdrop aid, armed groups only allowed humanitarian aid convoys to enter the enclaves sporadically over the previous over two years, leaving up to 20,000 individuals in a perilous situation. Hospitals and clinics had no supplies, which led to some women dying while giving birth. The United Nations, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) were last granted access to deliver humanitarian assistance to Madaya and Bqine, and Fu’ah and Kafraya in 14 March 2017, though aid had not been granted prior to that since November 2016. 3. Similarly, in the eastern Damascus municipalities of Barza, Tishreen, and Qabun, Government forces intensified an aerial campaign in February, decimating large swathes of civilian infrastructure. By mid-March, they recaptured segments of a road between Barza, Qabun, and Tishreen, severing any connection between the neighbourhoods, and, by May, fully besieged all three areas whereafter no humanitarian aid was allowed to enter any of the neighbourhoods. One interviewee in Qabun recalled the shortage of food, noting civilians “did not even have dried bread to eat”. 4. In order to draw an end the crippling effects of these sieges, a truce initially negotiated in September 2015 was implemented in April this year concerning Madaya and Zabadani (Damascus countryside), and Fu’ah and Kafraya (Idlib), collectively known as the “Four Towns” agreement. Similarly, in May, local truces were implemented in Barza, Tishreen, and Qabun (eastern Damascus). All truces have been finalised in either oral or written forms, and, while the terms of each are unique to the besieged locality surrendering, details provided by interviewees reveal numerous similarities between them which have been observed over the period under review. 5. The “Four Towns” agreement was entered into between Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham and Ahrar al-Sham on the side of terrorist and armed groups, and Hizbullah, Iran, and Qatar on the other. Elements of the agreement included: the departure of fighters and an unspecified number of civilians from Madaya, Zabadani, and Bloudan towards Idlib (though the Commission notes at least 5,000 left); departure of up to 8,000 pro-Government forces and civilians and from Fu’ah and Kafraya; exchange of prisoners and corpses; and the release of 1,500 detainees by Government forces, primarily women. The agreement also included evacuation of fighters from Yarmouk camp (Damascus), among other details. 6. Local truces in Barza, Tishreen, and Qabun were all negotiated between Government forces and armed groups, sometimes with the assistance of local council members, and implemented in May. In Barza, the initiative to negotiate a local truce 1 A/HRC/31/68, paras. 120 and 129; see also International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Customary International Humanitarian Law, 2005, Volume I: Rules, at Rule 53. 31