The local council of the Syrian city of al-Rastan in northern Homs province has launched an appeal for relief to international organisations after the city has run out of flour, a local relief worker told Diyaruna.

The council is no longer able to distribute bread free of charge to the city’s impoverished residents because of the suffocating siege imposed on it by Syrian regime forces, council worker Anwar al-Ezzeddine said.

The local council issued the call on Wednesday (October 4th) after it confirmed that the city's supply of flour was totally depleted and there was nothing left to keep the bakeries operating, he said.

"Regime forces have blocked all food aid, including flour, from passing through to the city to pressure its residents to make concessions" and allow them to enter the city, he told Diyaruna.

Al-Ezzedine noted that the last batch of flour to enter the city was delivered about three months ago by the UN.

"The city's bakeries used to distribute 80% of the bread to the city’s residents free of charge and the remainder was sold at nominal prices that were less than 25% of the price of bread in other areas," he said.

The free bread was intended to alleviate the burden on residents who are experiencing severe financial hardships due to the siege imposed on the city and the ongoing war, he said.

"Other food items are also about to disappear from the markets and there is no food aid to distribute at all," said al-Ezzedine.

Life in the city increasingly dire

The majority of the city’s 60,000 people work in the agricultural sector, which is almost totally halted, he said.

"The situation in al-Rastan is dire in every respect, as almost all work has stopped, particularly in trade and agriculture," Aleppo media activist Faisal al-Ahmad told Diyaruna.

Furthermore, government employees have not been getting paid their salaries, he said.

Schools in the city also are facing challenges, he said, adding that they may suspend operations due to the lack of equipment, supplies and textbooks.

"Children are even sitting on the floor in schools, which were repaired just enough to make them fit to receive students," said al-Ahmad.

He said that in addition to being under siege by regime forces, al-Rastan's location has compounded its problems as the city is far from routes international organisations use to deliver assistance.