You're reading: Reuters: In Damascus’s ravaged farm belt, Douma’s residents jostle for loaves

Reuters: In Damascus’s ravaged farm belt, Douma’s residents jostle for loaves

Published April 17, 2018 at 9:53 am

Syrians receive bread donated by the government in Douma on the outskirts of Damascus on April 16, 2018 during an organised media tour after the Syrian army declared that all anti-regime forces have left Eastern Ghouta, following a blistering two month offensive on the rebel enclave.

Photo by AFP

It used to provide fresh food for the Syrian capital; now its hungry people are queuing for bread handouts from a truck.

For over a week now, Syrian government flags have flown over Douma, the biggest town in the agricultural eastern Ghouta region near Damascus, since rebels there surrendered after five years of siege.