For months, our organizations have warned of an impending annihilation in eastern Aleppo. As the Assad regime and Russia bombed vital infrastructure and targeted innocent civilians, we appealed to the international community to take the necessary steps to stop the oncoming slaughter and protect our innocent children. Our calls fell on deaf ears.
Now, civilians in Aleppo are just days away from starvation. After more than 90 days of siege, over 250,000 people are trapped without access to basic foods, medicine, and fuel. Those who have not been driven from their homes risk extermination by the Assad regime and Russia—or a slow, cruel death due to the denial of aid and medical care. All the hospitals in eastern Aleppo have been bombed. The injured now have nowhere to turn. Our people are on the brink of annihilation, yet the world has failed to take any meaningful action to stop eastern Aleppo’s suffering or provide basic resources to those in need.
Global inaction has cost lives in Aleppo and across Syria. Yet limited global action can still save lives. Right now, there are concrete steps the international community can take to alleviate the suffering in eastern Aleppo and offer hope to those in need. With political will and determination, the annihilation of eastern Aleppo can still be prevented.
- Airdrop aid to eastern Aleppo. It has been three months since the last aid delivery was made to eastern Aleppo. Our groups estimate that the last foodstuffs in Aleppo will run out in a matter of days. MPs in the UK have called on the British government to airdrop aid into eastern Aleppo. We join those calls, and appeal to our allies in France, Germany, the Netherlands and across Europe to demand airdrops to eastern Aleppo without delay. It’s not a perfect or risk-free solution. But it’s a last resort that will save some lives.
- Support a sustainable ceasefire in eastern Aleppo. The violence in Aleppo must stop. But for a ceasefire to hold, it is imperative that violations by any party be met with consequences. Anything less will only condemn our people to more suffering.
- Protect civilians in eastern Aleppo and across Syria. Indiscriminate airstrikes by Assad and Russia are the foremost killer of Syrian civilians—far outnumbering deaths due to ISIS or other terrorist groups. A nationwide no-bomb zone would deter indiscriminate bombardment and create the pressure needed to bring Assad back to the negotiating table.
For too long, the international community has stood witness to Syria’s destruction, yet failed to take the basic steps needed to stop it. We know that global action can still save lives in Aleppo. Saving lives in Syria has never been a question of feasibility. It has only been a question of political will. Will the world choose to save eastern Aleppo? 250,000 innocent lives depend on it.
