QAMISHLI, Syria — Deir ez-Zor is a city divided and beset on all sides. Though much of the city is still controlled by the Syrian government, it has been under attack and blockaded for more than a year by the Islamic State (IS). Shelling and starvation have killed dozens of civilians, and much of the city has no electricity. 

The siege "is threatening the lives of the biggest unarmed mass of humanity in Syria,” according to a report titled “420 Days of Siege Laid on Deir ez-Zor,” issued by the Justice for Life Observatory (JFL). The civil rights organization is comprised of activists and journalists in the city.

Civilians are trapped. JFL director Jalal al-Hamad said IS began besieging neighborhoods controlled by President Bashar al-Assad's forces in January 2015, closing all land and water crossings leading to it and preventing food and medical supplies from reaching the civilians there.

Both IS and the regime are preventing civilians from entering or exiting the areas under their control. While IS interrogates, harasses and confiscates the documents of whoever wants to leave the city, the Syrian government asks those who want to leave, be it by land or by air, for security approvals from intelligence authorities.