Syrian regime continues destruction of Aleppo

ALEPPO, Syria — Those residents who remain in the city of Aleppo live in a state of constant fear, with the daily prospect of death. In this miserable city, scenes of destruction abound, as piles of rubble fill the sides of the roads. The sense of safety that may arise from the movement of people in markets and residential areas is offset by worries that these areas will be targeted by Syrian army shelling.

Since April 10, regime forces have intensified bombing of the neighborhoods of Aleppo controlled by the rebels, targeting schools and markets. In just the first five days of the campaign, 89 civilians were killed, including 22 children and 11 women, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights. The types of bombing varied, ranging from explosive barrels launched from helicopters and raids carried out by warplanes, to highly destructive FIL missiles, which the regime typically fires in the evening.

The most commonly used of these means of killing are the explosive barrels, which are inexpensive and locally manufactured in research centers affiliated with the army. You see the people’s eyes fixed on the sky, as they watch a helicopter roaming above them at an altitude of more than 4 kilometers (2.4 miles). Suddenly everyone runs for cover inside buildings as the helicopter approaches — no one knows when the barrel will be launched. This is a daily scene of terror experienced by the residents here.

This escalation in bombing calls to mind the campaign waged by the Syrian regime against the city in late 2013. This campaign led to the displacement of the majority of residents and reduced hundreds of buildings to rubble, making the city resemble a ghost town. From Dec. 18, 2013, to March 19, 2014, 2,049 civilians were killed (including 571 children) by regime bombings. Yet, with the decline in the intensity of bombings during the winter, alongside the progress made by rebels in recent months, life had partially returned to the city.