Up to 600,000 displaced Syrians return since liberation of Deir Ezzor one year ago
The 5th of September 2017 has become a significant date in the life of Deir Ezzor inhabitants as the Syrian army units lifted the 3-year siege imposed by Daesh (ISIS) terrorists on the city and put an end to their atrocities against up to 70,000 people who were prevented from food and water.
At 2:00 pm on September 5th, 2017, the city has been declared free from terrorism and since the first few hours of that declaration, governmental bodies started work to revitalize Deir Ezzor city and countryside. The wheel of production began to turn and several services and developmental projects were launched in parallel with the rehabilitation of main infrastructure such as electricity and water networks as well as transportation, communications and fuel.
The number of returnees since the beginning of 2018 has reached 503,571 people distributed among liberated neighborhoods in Deir Ezzor city, the eastern, western and northern rural areas.
Army units, in cooperation with competent authorities, completed canvassing cities, towns and villages to cleanse terrorists’ remnants while reconstruction workshops started to remove debris, open streets, maintain sewerage networks and rehabilitate roads and parks, not to mention the installation of solar road and street lighting systems.
Head of Education Directorate, Khalil Haj O’beid, underlined the great strides made in the educational process, noting that 188 schools have been opened since the beginning of 2018 while the number of students reached 60,000 and up to 6000 teachers.
On 13th of May 2018, electricity fully returned to Deir Ezzor city for the first time in years. Director of Deir Ezzor Electricity, Khaled Loutfi, said that 99% of inhibited neighborhoods have been supplied with electricity, particularly after the rehabilitation of several power plants including al-Tayem gas power plant to be put into service with a capacity of 30 MW.
Water sector also witnessed remarkable improvement as 24 water stations entered into service in addition to maintaining water networks in liberated areas.
Regarding healthcare services, 26 health centers and two medical checkpoints were opened, in addition to the hospital complex in Deir Ezzor city. Head of Health Directorate, Abd Najm al-O’beid, said that the health sector has been provided with all equipment, medicines, ambulances and mobile clinics.
Head of Agriculture Directorate, Mahmoud Hayo, said that 10,000 tons of cotton and 3500 tons of wheat have been marketed, in addition to provide farmers with irrigation networks, seeds and fertilizers.
Convoys of foodstuff and consumer goods from the Syrian Trading Company were sent to Deir Ezzor and the prices witnessed sharp reduction. 21 bakeries and 6 sales centers were also opened to meet citizens’ needs and requirements.
SANA