Paul Keenan
A Syrian man comforts a boy amid the rubble of buildings following a reported air strike on the rebel-held neighbourhood of al-Kalasa in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, on February 4, 2016.
Tens of thousands of people were reported to have fled their homes in northern Syria as regime troops pressed a major Russian-backed offensive around second city Aleppo. Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davotoglu warned that up to 70,000 people were headed towards his country, fleeing the offensive, which threatens to completely encircle rebels in Aleppo city.
/ AFP / THAER MOHAMMEDTHAER MOHAMMED/AFP/Getty Images Thousands of Christians are reportedly trapped in the besieged Syrian city of Aleppo as the battle by government troops to recapture it enters its final stages.
Having endured the heaviest shelling of the conflict in recent weeks ahead of an advance by forces loyal to President Bashar al Assad on rebel lines, Christians and other residents are now trapped as escape routes have been seized or remain under bombardment. The opening of such routes last week for the safe passage of civilians was greeted with scepticism by many too afraid to leave the relative safety of their neighbourhoods.
Now, with rebels mounting a last-ditch counter attack, civilians are caught between the warring sides, cut off from humanitarian supplies and with stocks of food and water running out. One bombardment destroyed a warehouse containing a reported 10,000 food parcels intended for civilians.
“We no longer have any chance of living,” Father Ibrahim al Sabbagh told Aid to the Church in Need in a recent dispatch from the city. “Some believe that it would almost be better to die.” Describing Aleppo’s situation now as “the worst moments in its history”, Fr Ibrahim added that five Franciscan priests continue to work amid the shelling to bring what supplies and help they can to besieged communities.
Passive
He said: “We cannot remain passive in the face of this evil. Our clear answer must be patience and a positivity of action. This is why we are helping where we can by visiting the sick and praying with the faithful.”
In an attempt to reduce the scale of fighting, government forces have offered an amnesty to any rebels choosing to lay down their arms, an initiative which has met with some success, but not enough to prevent the counter attack.
Aleppo remains a key prize for President Bashar al Assad in his drive to reclaim Syria. Its fall to him would stand as his biggest gain yet in the five-year conflict.