Aleppo: The crisis continues

A week on from the final battle for Aleppo, and 50,000 civilians still remain trapped amid the ruins of a city they once called home.

The UN Security Council has recently approved a motion allowing for monitors to be deployed in eastern Aleppo, to prevent further violence. The evacuation of civilians has resumed, after delays caused by the breakdown of settlements between government and rebel forces.

There is still uncertainty surrounding the fate of the remaining civilians stranded in east Aleppo and the Shia villages of Fuaa and Kefraya. The situation inside the city of Aleppo remains fluid, and as the conflict continues, the number of displaced persons will rise on a daily basis. Food security is a major issue for both those trapped in eastern Aleppo and families who have managed to flee, and starvation will be a reality for tens of thousands if adequate assistance is not provided.

According to monitors at the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 65 buses have transported around 3,500 civilians from eastern Aleppo since midnight on Sunday, depositing them in the Rashiden area of Aleppo province.

Human Appeal has a presence in Aleppo, and our most recent figures show that 12,025 people have been evacuated from the city. There is no clear direction as to where these Internally Displaced Persons are going, but many have moved into rural Aleppo over the last couple of days.

Our partners on the ground report that Internally Displaced Persons and returnees, the majority of whom are women and children, have fled the conflict in eastern Aleppo with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. They might have made it out of the city, but they still face food insecurity, cold, homelessness, and persecution.

With the support of our donors, Human Appeal has already:

• Constructed a high-quality emergency camp in Azaz Aleppo, catering for 2,500 vulnerable people who have fled Aleppo city.
• Distributed 4,000 hygiene packs and food parcels to 20,000 people in rural Aleppo.
• Provided 50,000 people with flour and bread on a daily basis across rural Aleppo. 

Responding to last week’s harrowing outbreak of violence, we’re now providing more life-saving aid to civilians as they leave eastern Aleppo, including:

• Emergency kits vital for homeless refugees, containing sponge mattresses, blankets, pillows, plastic sheets, and an LED light.
• Temporary shelters for the 80,000 displaced Syrian civilians in rural Aleppo.
• A mobile kitchen producing 5,000 cooked meals for 24hrs every day.
• Winter kits to protect Syrian families in the coldest months of the year. Hypothermia, chilblains, frostbite, and pneumonia are real risks, particularly for children and the elderly. 

One week on and the crisis in Aleppo is far from over. We must not grow complacent because violence and suffering is still the reality for hundreds of thousands of families who have lost everything.

As the cold weather draws in, the people of Aleppo and surrounding areas will be subjected to freezing rain and icy winds. The majority do not have adequate shelter, warm clothes, blankets, or fuel to cook with. They need our help as much now as they did seven days ago.