Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Abou Zakkour, a 68-year-old man from the war-torn Syrian city of Aleppo has become known as the “Yellow Man” after wearing only yellow for the last 35 years. The story of the Yellow Man of Aleppo started on January 25, 1983, when Abou Zakkour …
Read More »Syria’s war in numbers: 310,000 dead, 4.8m refugees
Beirut, Lebanon | AFP | Syria’s conflict has killed more than 310,000 people, uprooted over half the population and left much of the country in ruins since it erupted almost six years ago. Here are some key statistics: – Huge death toll – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said …
Read More »Putin calls Assad to congratulate on Aleppo ‘liberation’
Moscow, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin called Syria’s Bashar al-Assad Friday to congratulate him on completing the “liberation” of Aleppo, the Kremlin said. “Russian President Vladimir Putin phoned the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and congratulated him with the end of the operation of liberation of Aleppo from …
Read More »Russian ambassador shot dead in Turkey attack
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | A Turkish policeman crying “Aleppo” and “revenge” shot dead Russia’s ambassador to Turkey at an art exhibition in Ankara on Monday, in what Moscow said was a “terrorist act”. Andrei Karlov died of his wounds after the shooting, which occurred on the eve of a …
Read More »Aleppo evacuations again suspended after deadly attack
Aleppo, Syria | AFP | Evacuations Sunday of fighters and civilians from the devastated Syrian city of Aleppo were postponed until further notice after gunmen attacked buses for a similar operation from two rebel-besieged villages. The development came as Syria ally Russia warned it would veto a French-drafted resolution …
Read More »Between guilt and outrage, West looks helpless over Aleppo
Berlin, Germany | AFP | The fall of Aleppo has unleashed a mixture of outrage and impotence in the West, in which fury at the relentless carnage has mingled with guilt over the failure to stop it. Even the European public — who marched in the millions over the siege …
Read More »Iran’s Rouhani congratulates Assad on Aleppo ‘victory’
Tehran, Iran | AFP | Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani phoned his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday to congratulate him on the impending defeat of rebel forces in the battleground city of Aleppo, his website said. “The victory in Aleppo… constitutes a great victory for the Syrian people against terrorists …
Read More »Fears grow for Aleppo civilians as Syria regime advances
Aleppo, Syria | AFP | Syrian government forces and allied fighters advanced quickly inside rebel-held Aleppo on Monday, pressing an offensive in defiance of international concern for the fate of the city and its civilians. The recapture of the rebel-held east, which fell from government control in 2012, would be …
Read More »Artillery fire rocks Aleppo as Syria army presses assault
Aleppo, Syria | AFP | Heavy artillery exchanges rocked Syria’s battleground second city Aleppo throughout the night as government forces pressed a two-pronged assault on rebel-held districts, an AFP correspondent reported on Saturday. The government’s offensive to recapture the whole of Aleppo has been bolstered by its Russian ally’s rejection …
Read More »Covering Syria through hunger and fear
Aleppo, Syria | AFP | For Karam al-Masri, AFP’s reporter, photographer and videojournalist in rebel-held Aleppo, the past five years have been a series of tragedies: detention by the regime, and then the Islamic State group, the death of his parents in an air strike, the siege of his hometown, …
Read More »