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Inside the Sieges: The Scope and Implications of Besieged Syria

A conversation with:
Dr. Mohamad Katoub
Protection Officer
Syrian American Medical Society

Ms. Valerie Szybala
Executive Director
The Syria Institute

Mr. Jan Jaap van Oosterzee
Middle East Policy Lead
PAX

Mr. Faysal Itani
Senior Fellow, Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East
Atlantic Council

Introduction by:
Ambassador Frederic C. Hof
Senior Fellow, Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East
Atlantic Council
 

The images of emaciated children in the besieged Syrian town of Madaya drew international attention in January 2016. Meanwhile, the opposition Syrian High Negotiations Committee’s unanswered demand for lifting of sieges, as stipulated in UN Security Council resolution 2254, threatens to derail Syria peace talks in Geneva. Key international leaders’ calls for implementation of the resolution, aimed at ending the violence, have not resulted in access to besieged areas. 

On February 10, 2016 please join the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East for a discussion on the scope, scale, and policy implications of the ongoing siege crisis. Dr. Mohamed Katoub will share his experiences as a dentist and medical worker from the besieged Damascus suburb of Douma. Valerie Szybala will present the findings of the newly released Siege Watch report that indicates there are well over 1 million Syrians under siege in Syria, and that the Syrian government and its allies are the main parties besieging civilian populations. Jan Jaap van Oosterzee will examine the implications of the sieges, and Faysal Itani will moderate the discussion.

Dr. Mohamed Katoub is the Public Relations Director for the United Medical Office of Eastern Ghouta. Valerie Szybala is the author of several influential reports including Slow Death: Life and Death in Syrian Communities under Siege and Assad Strikes Damascus. Jan Jaap van Oosterzee has been working on Middle East programs in various capacities with PAX, an international peace organization based in the Netherlands. Faysal Itani focuses on the war in Syria and its regional impact. Ambassador Frederic Hof specializes in the conflict in Syria.