Opposition loses grip on Aleppo, civilians cry for help

ANKARA

As civilians in regime-besieged parts of eastern Aleppo issue desperate appeals for help, a video of an old man speaking outside some of the city’s ruined buildings has gone viral on social media.

"We are dying in Aleppo! We are hungry! Our children are being slaughtered!" the old man cries out in the video.

Thousands of civilians are reportedly still trapped by the Assad regime and Iranian-backed Shia militias in the city’s eastern districts.

Anadolu Agency received voice messages from one woman in Aleppo who -- speaking on condition of anonymity -- begged for help.

"I beg you to do something! Bodies litter the streets," she said.

Another family in Aleppo sent Anadolu Agency a voice message in which their son -- traumatized by persistent attacks -- issued a similar plea for assistance.

"The plane is hitting us since the morning! No hospital! Children’s bodies are charred! There is no food, no medicine," the crying boy, Ammar, said.

A similar voice message was received from another family, whose daughter, Selma, can be heard shouting, "For God’s sake get us out of here!".

Since Nov. 15, more than 1,071 civilians have been killed in eastern Aleppo in attacks by Syrian regime and Russian warplanes, according to local sources.

The fierce bombardments have forced most of the city’s hospitals to halt operations, while most academic activities have been indefinitely suspended.

Recent days have seen the Russia-backed Assad regime reestablish control over parts of Aleppo captured four years ago by armed opposition groups.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which had erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed by the conflict and millions more displaced.