“Dear World … Why Are You Silent?”: Aleppo Residents Make Social Plea for Help

Ordinary people describe the dangers, fear and long waits in Aleppo’s warzone over social media. Arranging ceasefires and agreements is a challenge because of multiple factions on either side. Buses ready to deliver civilians to safety were blocked by pro-government forces. “Citing rebel and United Nations sources, the Reuters news agency said the ceasefire unravelled after Iran, one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s main backers, imposed new conditions, saying it wanted the simultaneous evacuation of wounded from two Shiite villages besieged by rebel fighters,” reports Tu Thanh Ha for the Globe and Mail. Both sides cannot even agree if the battle for Aleppo is finished: “the UN and Amnesty International have raised alarms about reports that advancing government troops have executed civilians and that hundreds of men who tried to cross into government-controlled areas have gone missing.” Promises have been repeatedly made and broken for those in Aleppo. Assad, whose autocratic rule instigated protests and war, makes the absurd claim that the United States sides with the Islamic State. Trust is nonexistent in Syria. – YaleGlobal