After a brokered ceasefire at the fall of East Aleppo, the last hope for what is left of humanity there has been broken. Tens of thousands of civilians and rebels are trapped. People of Aleppo have already been starving for months because of blockades against international aid. There were only 30 doctors left in the entire city, according to the United Nations at the end of September. Now, there is no one to care for the thousands of critically sick and injured civilians.
Evacuations were halted after Russia incorrectly said that the only ones left in Aleppo were rebels. Because of this, over 80 people were shot on command in the street. At least thirteen were women and children.
Some 10,000 civilians are rebels have been evacuated, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Moreover, the New York Times reports that pro-Assad forces shot many evacuees on the spot, demanding shoes, clothing, laptops, and anything deemed of value. After ordering four evacuees out of a car and shooting them, pro-Assad forces told the rest of the evacuees this was “payback”.
After the gas attacks, shootings in the streets, and bombings, starvation and being stranded in Aleppo is what is going to kill the rest of the Syrian people. And the international community wrings their hands.
In a video message to Syrians, Bashar al-Assad said the “liberation” of Aleppo was “history in the making.” History in the making for sure. We will have to answer to our children why our world leaders knew what was happening in Syria since 2011 and did nothing.
After the Holocaust, we vowed to never let it happen again. After Darfur, we vowed to never let it happen again. After Rwanda, after Serbia and Kosovo, after the Trail of Tears. We can’t say we didn’t know.
