Madaya siege marks Hezbollah’s eternal disgrace

Last week, the media circulated a video of a Syrian boy called Mohammed, who said he had not eaten in days due to the siege on the town of Madaya. “I swear to God I’m hungry,” he said, but his withered face, protruding bones, voice and features were enough to convey the pain he feels due to hunger.

The Syrian regime and Hezbollah have besieged Madaya for months, and prevented anyone from leaving to get food. The siege marks the culmination of the scandal of the recent deal between the armed opposition on one hand, and the Syrian regime and Hezbollah on the other.

The deal entailed a sectarian transfer of people from Zabadani, Kefraya and Al-Foua into Lebanon and Turkey. This evacuation took place at the end of last year, and we are now witnessing new chapters of it.

Media coverage

News, photos and videos from Madaya are gradually emerging. Some reports have highlighted exorbitant food prices, and residents having to eat cats and grass to stay alive. The World Food Organization (WHO) says starvation is a systematic policy practised by the regime and the opposition, and Madaya is suffering the most from this policy.

The media of the regime and Hezbollah are not concerned about the starving people of Madaya, completely ignoring what is happening there. However, as photos of death and suffering emerge, they have fought back by bringing up the fact that armed opposition groups have besieged Syrian towns such as Kefraya and Al-Foua.

The fact that Hezbollah is besieging Madaya cannot be responded to by saying opposition forces are besieging Kefraya and Al-Foua. This despicable explanation, which some are using in order to defend the murder of Syrians by the regime and Hezbollah, does nothing but equate between murderers, though the regime and Hezbollah have done worse than everyone else in Syria.

Hezbollah’s lies in order to justify its defense of a criminal regime and its killing of Syrian civilians are falling apart. Its siege of Madaya will come to an end, but the disgrace that will befall the party as a result of this crime will be eternal.

This article was first published in Asharq al-Awsat on Dec. 11, 2016.

__________________
Diana Moukalled is the Web Editor at the Lebanon-based Future Television and was the Production & Programming Manager with at the channel. Previously, she worked there as Editor in Chief, Producer and Presenter of “Bilayan al Mujaradah,” a documentary that covers hot zones in the Arab world and elsewhere, News and war correspondent and Local news correspondent. She currently writes a regular column in AlSharq AlAwsat. She also wrote for Al-Hayat Newspaper and Al-Wasat Magazine, besides producing news bulletins and documentaries for Reuters TV. She can be found on Twitter: @dianamoukalled.