Hizbullah fighters enforcing the Syrian regime's siege of Baqeen, located near Madaya and al-Zabadani in the countryside north-west of Damascus, recently forced more than 40 families out of their homes, residents said.

The move followed an escalating pattern of harassment and violence against town residents, they told Diyaruna, since the blockade began in late 2014.

At dawn on October 18th, Hizbullah fighters drove more than 40 families away from their homes near the Asali checkpoint to the north of the town so it could take control of the area's only water source, they said.

After Hizbullah targeted homes in the area with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), many residents said they had no choice but to leave, noting that this treatment is consistent with the group’s previous harassment .

Among the families forced to evacuate their homes is that of Umm Hasan Hamza, who chose to withhold her full name due to security concerns.

"I was living in peace with my husband and five sons and five daughters in the Naba al-Asal neighbourhood until Hizbullah took over and placed Baqeen under siege," she told Diyaruna. "Since then, Hizbullah has been terrorising us ."

"They killed my husband and two of my sons," she said. "Mohammed (14) was shot in the foot and had to undergo 11 operations before he died, and my second son, Hassan (18) was killed by a sniper bullet seven months ago."

Her son-in-law also was killed by the Iran-backed militia , she said.

Harassment and intimidation

"After both my daughter (20) and I were widowed, with no one to support us, we continued to live in our house in spite of Hizbullah’s daily harassment," Umm Hasan Hamza said.

"Other forms of intimidation would include gunfire and throwing hand grenades at the building we live in or firing mortars at our neighbourhood, not to mention the shameful way they would talk to us through loudspeakers," she said.

She awoke on October 18th to "cursing and lewd language bursting through loudspeakers", ordering people to leave their houses.

"To make sure we would leave, they sprayed our homes with RPGs and a barrage of bullets," she said. "That is how residents found themselves with [only] the clothes on their backs at dawn, walking towards Baqeen, while we went to Madaya where we have relatives."

Residents of the town have tried to steer clear of Hizbullah, she said, to the extent that they would not even venture near the windows overlooking the checkpoint or the buildings the group occupied.

This is so "they would not throw hand grenades at us", she said, adding that they fired at her granddaughter when she opened a window overlooking them.

"Our troubles got worse day after day, and there were no men and youth left in our neighbourhood because of them, while our homes were under fire from them every day," she said.

"Our future is unknown because we have no roof over our heads, particularly since winter is on our doorstep," Umm Hasan Hamza said, adding that the family has "no fuel, wood or electricity" to sustain it through the cold season.

Residents left without water

Hizbullah's forced displacement of Naba al-Asal residents was motivated by its desire "to get control of our water spring", said local field worker Fidaa Afandar.

The spring is a mere 75 metres away from the Asali checkpoint, which prevents residents from accessing the water, he told Diyaruna.

Hizbullah has been engaged in the "daily harassment" of Baqeen residents since the start of the siege, particularly in Naba al-Asal, he said, where the group mans a key checkpoint and has a headquarters building.

"For about a month, the local residents have been under sniper attack," he said. "The group has killed four people between the ages of 25 and 67, one of whom was my relative, Abdo Afandar."

Of the 40 families who fled without their personal belongings following the October 18th loudspeaker announcement, he said, many have taken shelter in another town "that is almost uninhabitable".

Hizbullah is "trying to corner us and march towards the water spring and take possession of the houses that are recently deserted by their owners", he said.

Prisoners in their own town

Abu Ali, an electricity sector worker who asked that his real name not be used, said he chose not to leave his home near the Asali checkpoint, where he lives with his wife and five children between the ages of 7 and 16.

The current situation is "unimaginable", he told Diyaruna.

"Myself and nine other families chose not to vacate our building because we have no other place to go to, in spite of the huge danger that Hizbullah poses," he said. "They resorted to all sorts of ways to pressure us to leave our home."

Despite the daily threats from Hizbullah, he said, he and the other families decided to stay and take their chances.

"It is either that or the street," he said, adding that "winter is coming".