The U.N. Human Rights Watch has claimed that in four areas of Eastern Aleppo, 82 civilians were shot on sight, as loyal, pro-government forces launched an attack on the rebel-held neighborhoods of the city. It has been reported that the military raided the homes of numerous civilians and proceeded to kill them without hesitation, leaving 82 dead so far, including 11 women and 13 children, in the fight to take control of Aleppo. Despite this, there are still thousands of civilians stuck in rebel-held areas that await impending danger from the incoming troops, unable to receive safe passage out of the city.
“There was a complete meltdown of humanity in Aleppo,” states Spokesperson for the U.N. Human Rights office, Rupert Colville. “We received further deeply disturbing reports that numerous bodies were lying on the streets.” The U.N.’s humanitarian advisor on Syria, Jan Egeland, took to Twitter to publicly place the blame for the extrajudicial killings currently being carried out by the military on the governments of Syria and Russia; thus, leaving them responsible.
The Gov’ts of Syria & Russia are accountable for any and all atrocities that the victorious militias in Aleppo are now committing!
— Jan Egeland (@NRC_Egeland) December 12, 2016
However, Dmitry Peskov (Spokesman for the Kremlin) claims that the killings have been carried out by ‘terrorist groups’. The Russian Centre for Reconciliation of the Opposing Sides has even been reported to have aided 7,796 civilians in leaving the city in the past 24 hours. Peskov claims that Mr. Egeland did not make those statements with full knowledge of what was occurring on the ground, despite the reports made towards the U.N. Human Rights office and the cries for aid from those stuck in Aleppo themselves.
According to the Russian military, 98% of Aleppo, Syria has been taken over by pro-government forces, leaving only a few neighborhoods under the control of the rebels. This only reinforces the probability of further violence, abuse and danger towards civilians, as the Syrian government comes close to taking complete control of the city.
The casualties that have piled over the recent years are immense and horrific, including the use of biological weapons on citizens, repeated air-strikes, a lack of humanitarian aid towards displaced persons within the country, as well as sparking the worst refugee crisis since World War II. For the past four years, Aleppo had been a landmark city held by opposition forces.
The victory of the Syrian government in claiming this land would shift the dynamic of the war significantly as they would control all of Syria’s important cities, and dangerously so.
Many civilians living in rebel-held areas fear as to what will happen to them once the Syrian government wins. Most refuse to take refuge in government-held neighborhoods, terrified at the prospect of being tortured or killed once they arrive due to being mistaken for members of the opposition. Others declare the bombardments and attacks on their areas too intense, and worry they will be shot on sight no matter the party.
The ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) and the U.N. have just renewed pleas towards all sides involved in the war to grant civilians safe passage from the city due to the sudden escalation of attacks, calling to parties to “respect human life”. “We need to depoliticise the process of protecting civilians,” says Pawel Krzysiek, the head of communications of the ICRC. “We need to put their lives first. And we need to do it now before it is not too late.” There are currently at least 50,000 people still trapped in the city, crowding into abandoned apartments and unable to shield themselves from bombings.
Our renewed urgent appeal to Russia & Damascus: ceasefire today to let us evacuate wounded and other vulnerable groups from Aleppo’s rubble.
— Jan Egeland (@NRC_Egeland) December 13, 2016
There is no doubt that the battle for Aleppo is coming to a destructive end as a result of the international community’s failure to come to a less detrimental solution, but it should no longer be at the expense of more innocents than those that have already been caught in the crossfire.
