Thread by @SyrianACD

The month of April witnessed several forced displacement waves of Syrians, as part of #Assad regime, #Iran & #Russia's demographic change scheme in #Syria, and one of most striking examples was that in #Madaya and #Zabadani, under what was known as 'Four Towns Agreement'. 1/ 🧵

The 'Four Towns Agreement' – in its amended version – was signed between representatives of some opposition factions on one hand, #Iran and #Hezbollah, on the other hand, under the coverage of #Assad regime, yet in isolation from the UN, who was present in the first version. 2/

However, the second version that was signed completely disregarded the obligations of #Assad regime and #Iran in the first version, which included releasing a large number of detainees (1500 detainees) and not forcing the residents of the region to leave their homes. 3/

This agreement resulted in the forced displacement of a large number of residents of #Zabadani, including Madaya and Baqin. On the other side, residents of towns of Kafraya and Al-Foua, which are located within the areas controlled by Free Army factions, were displaced too. 4/

#Iran, the state directly implicated in the crime of displacement along with the regime, also included other cities and towns in the agreement in the north and south of the country. 5/

This displacement was not the only product of this political agreement, but also the siege and starvation policies pursued by #Hezbollah at the border, in addition to the indiscriminate bombing of civilians. 6/

This forced the people and the factions in those areas to leave their towns and cities. This siege and bombardment resulted in the death of more than 300 civilians, 84 who died of starvation. 7/

The strategic importance of the #Zabadani region for #Iran was demonstrated by the fact that the Syrian regime was completely distanced from the plans to control the region, as #Hezbollah managed the blockade and military operations on the ground. 8/

While #Iran led the negotiations to reach one of the most important demographic change processes that the country witnessed after the displacement of Qusayr, also adjacent to the Lebanese border, where Iran and #Hezbollah were heavily involved as well. 9/

#Iran forced the people of the two Shiite towns of Kafraya and Foua – which mostly support it and its ally, the Assad regime – to be displaced completely after completing the displacement of #Madaya and #Zabadani in about a year. 10/

This shows how #Assad regime and its allies, #Russia and #Iran, have adopted a policy of demographic engineering of the country by adopting the policies of siege, starvation and military escalation leading to displacement of hundreds of thousands of people from their areas. 11/

All this and more make the logical hope and objective opportunity for a dignified and safe return for the people of the region, even in the absence of the political and security conditions to achieve a safe environment almost non-existent. 12/

The regime in Damascus, supported by #Russia and #Iran, bears legal, moral and political responsibility for the crimes of starvation, siege, and forced displacement specifically in #Zabadani and #Madaya, not to mention denying citizens a dignified, safe and voluntary return. 13/

Any attempts to normalize with the #Assad regime will only reward #Russia and #Iran who have invested heavily in #Syria by oppressing, displacing, killing, torturing and destroying homes of Syrians. 14/14

Read more about Zabadani's displacement here: syacd.org/displacement-o…