The sign of the Syrian president that once overlooked Aleppo's central square has been burnt almost beyond recognition, but the influence of Bashar al-Assad's regime is still felt in the rebel-held city, and residents live in fear of being bombarded by the regime.
“The biggest fear now shared by all residents of Aleppo is airstrikes,” said Mahmoud, a 50-year-old man who declined to give his last name. They feared Assad would regain control of the city and be punished. He slammed the critics just like he did eight years ago.
Damascus, backed by Russian forces, has bombed central Aleppo and neighboring areas of Idlib since rebels took control of Syria's second city last weekend while troops withdrew south. There is.
Two days ago, Mahmoud was near the entrance to Aleppo University Hospital when he heard a strike in his neighborhood. The next day, a wave of airstrikes hit five medical facilities and displaced persons camps in Idlib, killing at least 18 people, as well as airstrikes in central Aleppo. A strike hit rural areas southeast of the city on Tuesday afternoon, leaving four people injured.
Mahmoud said he avoided refueling at the few gas stations in Aleppo that still had gas, fearing long lines of cars would make him a target. “We’ve seen this before,” he said. “We know this administration doesn't care about people's lives.”
For Aleppo residents, the main sign that Islamic extremists from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group are now in control of the city is whether pickup trucks full of armed fighters are driving on the streets. , an extremist wearing green camouflage uniform. standing on the street corner.
Militants in civilian clothes guard government buildings, banks remain closed and many of Aleppo's estimated 2 million residents choose to remain at home. United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) I will explain “Long lines for bread in precarious conditions.”
After a long power outage in recent days, electricity has been restored after a few hours of flickering, but water and electricity remain intermittent. The city of Damascus has promised to maintain telecommunications services in the city, but Syria's two main mobile phone networks remain without service. Residents rely on their home internet service to stay in touch with their neighbors through social media.
“I heard that HTS and other organizations are trying to restore the internet, but they are just starting in one area and Aleppo is so big that it may take some time to expand,” Mahmoud said. spoke. “I think it’s only a matter of time before more services are offered.”
He hated seeing militants patrolling the streets in pickup trucks, but said he had not yet interacted with them. Mahmoud felt reassured about the intentions of the Salvation Government, the HTS and its nominal political wing in Idlib, to govern Aleppo after listening to the imam's speech at a mosque in the central district of Al-Mohafaza. .
Standing in front of an arch of bright blue tiles and polished stone, the imam introduced himself as a returned preacher with long-standing ties to the area.
“None of you will be harmed, neither your money nor your religion nor your honor,” the imam said, adding that representatives of the Salvation Government would ensure basic services and keep the city's bread ovens running. added.
“If someone is being abused, don't remain silent…We will not allow any of you to be harmed,” he told them.
Despite promises to keep the lights on and bread ovens warm and pledges of protection, the rebels have been unable to protect the people of newly occupied areas from airstrikes.
Mohammed al-Bashir, the nominal prime minister appointed by the Salvation Government, denounced the attack launched by Damascus as a “brutal crime”.
The Humanitarian Coordination Office in northwestern Syria, the agency that normally seeks to regulate aid to rebel-held Idlib, has been forced to respond to a wave of airstrikes launched by Damascus and its Russian allies against the United Nations and Security Council. He called for action to protect civilians.
The Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, said that as of December 1, 56 people had been killed and 238 injured in Syrian and Russian airstrikes against Aleppo and Idlib since HTS launched clearance operations last week. did.
Mustafa Abedu, a pharmacist and doctor, said he was among a large number of people who had fled Idlib to refugee camps on the outskirts of the city, fearing the rebel-held city center would be targeted.
Instead, he said the camp was targeted yesterday, along with residential areas in Idlib, in a wave of airstrikes that targeted locations far beyond the front lines. Abedu said he feared he could hear another jet in the sky while he spoke.
“The Assad regime is attacking cities it no longer controls, like Aleppo,” he said. “These warplanes are attacking vital facilities, hospitals and markets to put pressure on the rebels. It's terrible, and even though the fighting is almost 32 miles away, no one are afraid of these attacks.”
Syria's state news agency said on Tuesday that Syrian and Russian warplanes carried out additional airstrikes and missile attacks in southern Idlib. Areas north of Hama, where rebels fought to capture towns in the northern part of the provincial capital, were also reportedly attacked.
Assad's willingness to use large-scale military force against his own people reminded Abedou and Mahmoud of the battles at the height of Syria's bloody civil war, including the battle for Damascus for control of Aleppo that ended in 2016. It reminded me of.
Abedu, who also works for medical relief group MedGlobal, said an ambulance driver and a security guard from his team were killed in a strike at Aleppo University Hospital earlier this week.
He said he was concerned about Assad's willingness to resume airstrikes that destroyed the city a decade ago. He added that doctors in Idlib and Aleppo have begun distributing training materials on how to respond if Assad chooses to attack with chlorine gas. he did it in the pastor even the deadly nerve agent sarin that his regime used to kill more than 1,400 people in a Damascus suburb in 2013.
“We are worried that he will use these things again. There are no red lines in this administration that should be crossed and he could attack again,” Abedu said.
Mahmoud said he and others fear airstrikes, but are increasingly concerned about the supply of food and basic medicines. Food prices for many essential items such as tomatoes, peppers and sugar have doubled. Since the rebel takeover, the value of the Syrian pound has fallen in Aleppo's hidden markets, making goods more expensive.
“I'm worried that it's only a matter of time before things get even more chaotic, perhaps with people taking advantage of the opportunity to loot, and we run out of food and medicine. Some pharmacies are open, but new If we can’t bring in supplies, we’re going to run out of stock,” he said.
“When people are not working, especially those who work in the state and government, it means they are not getting paid, and they are unable to afford basic food and necessities.”
“Uncertainty reigns for all the people of Aleppo. It is very difficult to predict what will happen next,” he said. “Including whether the regime launches an all-out offensive to retake the city.”
Ranim Ahmed contributed to the report
