Under fire

One of the main reasons for a sharply worsening international situation is the situation in the largest city in Syria - Aleppo (Haleb). The United States and the EU accuse the Assad and Moscow regime of forbidden weapons. They scare Western politicians and the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe in Aleppo: the water supply does not work, there is almost no electricity, due to ongoing shelling, humanitarian assistance supplies are blocked. Moscow and Damascus object: the tip of the air strikes is aimed at the militants of the Jebhat Fath al-Sham group* (the former Jebhat al-Nusra*), who tore off the September truce, and now hold 250 thousand civilians hostage. To find out what is actually happening in Aleppo and why it is not possible to achieve the termination Fire, - The New Times contacted Skype with three city inhabitants

Mohab Abdul Salam, 29 years old, a resident of Al-Maisar (Vostochny Aleppo), activist of the Syrian Revolution Network : on my street, bombs and shells fall every day. I try not to leave the house. When the shelling stops, I go to work for a couple of hours. In general, men most often go outside only in order to get food for children.

Many residents have already become anyway - they will survive or die, they will not react to anything, even to bombs. Our fate is in the hands of Allah. Everyone will tell you now.

And everyone who is here is counting only on God's power. I’m walking around the city, now few people move on cars now - they can sit down from the air at any time, and gasoline has grown up three times.

Monzer Itali, 30 years old, a resident of the Seifs Ad-Dul region (Vostochny Aleppo), a journalist of the online news agency : there is not a single safe place in the city. Due to the constant shelling, most of the time I spend at home, and I go out only if the food is over. You can’t visit anyone, the transport does not go, and I'm not ready to walk on foot, scary.

We buy everything we need in the markets, mainly for savings, there is no work in the city. Previously, gas was used in everyday life, now we buy firewood and kerosene, although kerosene, they say, will not be left soon either. During the war years, many families managed to make rice and legumes reserves - they live. And people also “occupy” the products from each other or turn to local councils for help - the guys there very competently and economically distribute basic products and medicines.

Mohab Abdul Salam: in our area, barrel bombs often fell often. Well, imagine: two hundred meters from yourself you see a bright flash, and then a fiery wall of 20-30 meters width rushes right on you, and you have 5-10 seconds to find a shelter. Since the end of August, they began to bomb new weapons, as it is exactly called, I won’t tell you - a powerful explosion is heard, and everything is torn into small fragments, nothing remains of people at all. We have “doctors without borders”, they call these Vibrationing Rockets shells ... They said that these shells are often used by Russian aircraft, but it is impossible to check it.

Alhafeza himself, 27 years old, a resident of Al-Fardus (Vostochny Aleppo), physics teacher in a local school: in our area they are often bombed with vacuum bombs. The shock wave breaks through everything, including concrete, in the shelter, it is useless to hide in the bunker - even if fragments have not got into you, you will die from the lung rupture.

When the Syrian army bombed us, we sat in the shelter. But the attacks of Russian aircraft, I'm afraid to not survive any of us. Three days ago, Russians bombed the main city heating stations in the Sheikh Said area. The water station "Suleiman al-Khalyabi" was also bombed. Now the water is given every three days for three to four hours of the maximum-from reserve artesian wells. But you can’t drink it.

Glory to Allah, local councils are still functioning in the city, and help people in a hopeless situation. The city is in the siege, international assistance does not reach here. How people manage to get food, only Allah is known. It’s good that the guys from the “white helmets” help help.

Montzer Ithai : In our area, death as a result of the bombing has become the easiest way to solve all problems. Here the wounded, for example, accounts for the necessary medicines for everyone, some simply survive their days in torment or unconscious. Syrian and Russian planes attack the city every day, throw us drum, phosphorus and cassette bombs. I think that after a while our area will completely empty.

“Well, imagine: two hundred meters from yourself you see a bright flash, and then a fiery wall of 20-30 meters width is rushing directly on you, and you have 5-10 seconds to find a shelter”

Mohab Abdul Salam : what will happen next, in which direction the situation will change - no one knows. Part of the population has already turned away from the opposition, part is ready to stand with it to the end. We are considered an opposition to us everyone except Daish*(Arab name ISIS*.-NT) and "Jebhat Fath al-Sham"*. They write that people flee from East Aleppo to West, where supposedly a calm, well -fed life and all that. This is not true. No one runs anywhere. They sit at home and die at home. We still can’t stretch for more than a month. Hunger will begin, followed by an epidemic.

Alhafes themselves: The Russians have tactics: to bomb the territory aimed for a long time, and then suddenly fly away. After the next attack, we go along with the guys from the “Civil Defense” ** Dig the dead and wounded from under the debris. In general, 90% of air attacks occur to hospitals and other civilian objects. This is done on purpose that the opposition lost the support of the population, and after that it surrenders. But the most interesting thing is that we hardly see its fighters - they are all on the front line, which passes unknown where. But all bombs fall on us, on residential areas. There are almost no whole houses in my area. But I, too, did not hear someone to run away to West Aleppo. Shiites are ruled there, their militia. Better we will die at home.

Montzer Ithai: Escape to West Aleppo is a dangerous lesson, along the way you can easily get a bullet from the Syrian army sniper. And what is the point of running away from death to death.

Recorded by Ekaterina Kretova

* Daish (ISIS, IG), “Jebhat al-Nusra” (the new name “Jebhat Fath al-Sham”)-organizations prohibited in Russia as terrorist.

** “White helmets” (also known as the “Syrian Civil Specific Press”) - the Syrian NKO, numbering about 3 thousand volunteers, was nominated for the 2016 Nobel Prize of the World. Without supporting any of the parties to the conflict, it provides assistance to everyone, mainly engaged in the salvation of people. Since the emergence of "white helmets" in March 2013, 141 volunteers died.