People continued to hold protests and vigils in many Arab and Western cities to show solidarity with civilians in eastern Aleppo and to denounce the international community’s inaction over the atrocious crimes being carried out against civilians by the Assad regime and its allies in the ravaged city.
Most of the demonstrations were held outside the Russian and Iranian embassies.
Hundreds of human rights activists gathered outside the Russian embassy in Washington DC to protest the atrocities taking place in eastern Aleppo and to condemn the Russian aerial campaign in support for Assad.
The demonstrators condemned the horrific massacres against civilians in Aleppo, slamming the international community’s silence over these crimes. The protestors blamed the Obama administration for backing off on the “red line” Obama drew in Syria.
Over 2,000 people gathered In the French capital Paris to show solidarity with the people of Aleppo, condemning the systematic attacks on civilians in Aleppo. They called for an immediate ceasefire and for ensuring the safe evacuation of civilians trapped inside.
Thousands also held a vigil in front of the headquarters of the Danish parliament in the capital Copenhagen on Thursday. The participants held candles to denounce the massacres against the people in Aleppo.
In the Swedish capital, Stockholm, demonstrators called on the international community to take immediate action to save the Syrian people and demanded the departure of Russian, Iranian forces as well as Hezbollah militias from all Syrian territory.
Members of the Arab and Muslim community demonstrated in front of the Russian embassy in the Norwegian capital Oslo in solidarity with the besieged in Aleppo and other Syrian cities and towns.
Hundreds also gathered in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo in solidarity with civilians in besieged Aleppo. The protestors condemned the crimes being committed by regime forces and their allied militias against innocent civilians. They called upon the international community to urgently intervene to save the innocent people in Aleppo. The demonstrators stressed that they feel the suffering of the civilians of Aleppo as the city of Sarajevo itself was besieged and subjected to daily bombing by the Serbian forces in the 1990s.
Moreover, Islamic bodies and parties called upon the governments and peoples around the Muslim world to show support for Aleppo in the face of the unbearable suffering, daily killings, and displacement by the Assad regime forces and their allies.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the Association of Muslim Scholars in Lebanon called on the Lebanese government to expel the ambassadors of Russia, Iran and the Assad regime from Lebanon because of the crimes their countries are committing in Syria. They also called upon Hezbollah to stop the crimes its militias are committing in Syria fighting alongside Assad’s forces.
The World Association of Muslim Scholars called upon the Arab and Islamic countries to take action to support the city of Aleppo, saying that they still had hope some Arab and Muslim leaders will stand by the Syrian people.
The Association described the continuous onslaught on Aleppo as a “barbaric aggression encouraged by international inaction and betrayal.” It condemned the brutal aggression on Aleppo by the Assad regime and its Russian and Iranian allies. It also warned that their crimes in Aleppo and other Syrian towns and cities will not go unnoticed.
The statement was signed by the Association of Muslim Scholars, the World Union of Muslim Scholars, the Syrian Islamic Council, the Shura Council of Syrian Scholars, the Association of Sudanese Scholars, the Association of Moroccan Islamic Scholars, the Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq, the Association of Muslim Scholars in Lebanon, the Association of Palestinian Scholars, and the Association of African Scholars.
In Jordan, the Muslim Brotherhood group called upon the Arab and Islamic countries to assume their humanitarian duty towards the people of Aleppo. The group called for the use of all means available to stand by the people of Aleppo and stop the blatant aggression on the Syrian people, describing Russia and Iran as occupation forces in Syria.
For its part, the parliamentary group Green Algeria Alliance held Russia and Iran as well as the foreign militias fully responsible for the crimes taking place in Aleppo.
The group called upon the Algerian government to immediately put pressure on the Assad regime to stop its atrocities in Syria and to make a push towards a political and peaceful solution in Syria that ensures the protection of Syrian civilians, especially in Aleppo.
Protests in several Turkish cities continued including the capital, Ankara, to condemn the attacks against civilians in the Syrian city of Aleppo.
In Ankara, hundreds of Syrian and Turkish students gathered in front of the Iranian embassy to condemn the Iranian support for the Assad regime, calling for the rescue of civilians trapped in the besieged areas across Syria. Similar protests were also held in the Turkish provinces of Bayburt, Toqat, and Izmir.
In Kuwait, hundreds of citizens and residents held a sit-in on Thursday to show solidarity with the people of Aleppo in the face of the ongoing atrocities. Kuwaiti MPs, former MPs, scholars, and students participated in the sit-in. They demanded the expulsion of the Russian ambassador from Kuwait and for supporting the Free Syrian Army.
Activists in Morocco also protested in front of the Moroccan Parliament in the capital Rabat on Thursday to protest against Arab and international silence over the war crimes being committed by the Assad regime and its allies in the besieged Aleppo. Dozens of Moroccans and a number of Syrians living in Morocco also participated in the demonstration. (Source: Al Jazeera + Agencies + Syrian Coalition’s Media Office)
