ALEPPO, Syria — Residents of the opposition-controlled eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo are bracing themselves for the harsh winter conditions amid the regime's blockade that has been ongoing since Sept. 4. The besieged neighborhoods are facing a lack of heat sources for the winter. They have critically limited access to fuel and electricity, and there are prohibitively high, blockade-driven prices for wood, their basic heat source during the past four years.

As winter draws near, the price of a 200-liter barrel of diesel fuel hit 250,000 Syrian pounds ($500) in the eastern neighborhoods of the city of Aleppo because of the blockade. Before the blockade, the same quantity sold for 55,000 pounds ($90). Meanwhile, the price of a ton of firewood for heating reached 200,000 pounds ($400), compared to $120 before the blockade. Families cannot afford such prices in Aleppo amid difficult economic conditions plaguing the eastern neighborhoods of the city, as the average income of family providers does not exceed $100 — if they are lucky enough to have a job.

Electricity, which was the main heating source before the outbreak of hostilities in the city of Aleppo in the summer of 2012, is completely cut off in the eastern neighborhoods of the city because of the military activities near battle lines in the western part of Aleppo. On Feb. 16, regime forces took control of the thermal power station, which was under the control of the Islamic State (IS), near as-Safira city in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, cutting off the electrical supply to the eastern neighborhoods of the city. Power was secured to these neighborhoods through the only such station in the province. When the station was under IS control, areas under both Syrian regime and opposition control got equal power supplies under an agreement between the three parties. However, the regime took control of it in February.

Al-Hajj Abu Mohammad, a resident of al-Qaterji in eastern Aleppo, told Al-Monitor, “We are now unable to buy food, let alone other things such as fuel or wood for heating. Prices here in Aleppo are rising dramatically due to the blockade. In previous years, we would rely on wood for heating, as fuel has always been expensive. Now, however, fuel is unavailable and wood is no longer cheap. Now everything is expensive. Our work stopped because of the blockade, and people are living an inescapable hell. It gets a little cold in the night, but it is still tolerable. But two weeks from now, the weather will be completely different, and we might have to burn our furniture and unneeded tools to heat the house. Life is no longer bearable over here.”