An emergency protest for Aleppo has been organised in Liverpool

An emergency protest for Aleppo will be taking place on Thursday at 5pm in front of Lime Street this week, after reports began to surface last night of atrocities being committed against civilians as pro-government forces retook Aleppo.

The facebook event, organised by University of Liverpool student Amina Olabi, states that “This is an emergency protest in solidarity with Aleppo, aiming to raise awareness for the immense suffering they are facing and calling for an immediate ceasefire and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

“Please spread the word and bring your friends and family. please also bring any signs or placards with messages for Aleppo.”

Speaking to The Tab, organiser Amina said: “There are about 100, 000 people currently trapped in Aleppo city. The Syrian government forces and the Russian forces are cracking down heavily on civilians and they are currently surviving with no hospitals and any basic life requirements.

“This is a real crisis and people are NOT aware. As a Syrian, I find it very hard to fathom how this crisis is so documented yet so little is being done about it. Although many question the efficacy of a protest I just felt like we cannot sit back and watch. The people of Aleppo have asked people to take to the streets as their final wish, this is the least we can do.”

On organising the protest, Amina said: “We are hoping that through this protest we can raise awareness for the suffering of the people in Syria and to show our solidarity. We also hope to use this protest to mobilise people to further apply pressure on UK politicians to force Assad and Putin to create safe humanitarian corridors for people in the besieged Aleppo to seek a safe place in the north.”

Amina also suggest some ways that people can further act to help Syrians: “It is easy to feel helpless towards such overwhelming injustices. Contact your MPs asking them to apply political pressure on the government to play a role in the civilian protection of Syrians.

“There are many initiatives taking a proactive rather than a reactive approach to humanitarian aid through fundraising to help those affected. Yesterday AleppoCall was launched and they aim to work with Syrian NGOs to provide humanitarian aid. Donating to such initiatives really does help.”

Help the Homeless have already pledged their support to share the event on facebook and invite as many people as possible.

The UN’s human rights office today confirmed it had reliable evidence that 82 civilians were shot on sight in the Syrian city. Thousands of people  are reportedly trapped in rebel-held enclaves of the city, facing intense bombardment from the advancing pro-government forces. The UN and the Red Cross have appealed to Syria and Russia to end the bombardment and allow civilians safely out of the city.