SYRIA

Intro: There have already been unconfirmed but credible reports of civilians being executed on an industrial scale. There can be no doubt about the appalling and inhumane conditions that exist in the ruins of the city

IMAGES from Aleppo have revealed the truly post-apocalyptic nature of its horror. Hundreds if not thousands of its buildings have been reduced to empty shells or confined to mere rubble on the ground. It is hard to believe that Aleppo was once Syria’s largest city, with a population of 2.3million. It was also the country’s industrial and financial centre.

Four years of brutal and savage fighting in eastern Aleppo have left thousands dead, millions more displaced, hospitals destroyed and food supplies completely wiped out.

Thinking more esoterically about these pictures will realise that within that destruction there are tens of thousands of civilians, including women and children, who are trapped. They are not getting out.

The ceasefire that had begun to see them helped and transported out of this war-torn place has broken down. Inevitably, there is some confusion around exactly what has happened. There are reports that the rebels were attempting to take heavy weapons and captives out with them, actions which are contrary to the agreement. There is also a suspicion that the militias backing the government of Bashar al-Assad are not sticking to the ceasefire agreement either, or that they are simply unaware of what the agreement is. The militias include a cocktail of fighters from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon and Pakistan.

Syria’s government and its proxy ally, Iran, had insisted the evacuation from eastern Aleppo could only happen with the simultaneous evacuation of two other towns, Foua and Kefraya, which have also been heavily besieged by rebels since September 2015. It is possible that condition has not been met.

Workers on the ground from the World Health Organisation said that the Russian military had halted the evacuation, but had not said why they had done so.

More troubling, still, is the official statement from Russia – which backs and supports the Syrian government – which said the operation to remove fighters and families from the area is ‘complete’. The Russian defence ministry said all militants and their families have left and all women and children have also been removed from the districts, making a total of around 9,500 evacuees.

But by any reasonable estimate there are many more people still in need of evacuation. In the past few days, the United Nations estimated there were 100,000 people trapped in the small number of eastern Aleppo districts not under the control of government forces.

As of now, the best estimate is that there are at least 50,000 still trapped. There have already been unconfirmed but credible reports of civilians being executed on an industrial scale. There can be no doubt about the appalling and inhumane conditions that exist in the ruins of the city.

We are in danger of standing by and letting this tragedy and humanitarian disaster deepen. Russia’s direct involvement and the victories of Assad over the forces backed by the UK and the US seems to have left us feeling powerless to intervene or by doing anything that will help to relieve the terrible toll that we can see happening.

It must surely now be time to bring all diplomatic and international pressure to bear to halt the killing and by bringing relief. Governments should be urged to do that.