Thursday, August 18, 2016

Inside Aleppo

Welcome to Aleppo, Syria. The relentless bombardment. The curse of barrel bombs. The growing list of casualties. Behind every statistic, there is almost unimaginable human suffering.

THURSDAY 18 AUGUST 2016

For five years now the Syrian civil war has ground out mercilessly. It's left hundreds of thousands dead and uprooted 11 million people, half of whom have fled the country as refugees. What started as an Arab Spring like protest against the country's leader has become a relentless and brutal conflict involving many powers across the region.

The battle and now bombardment that began four years ago in Aleppo, the country's largest city, has been the bitter cauldron of that war. With scores of videos uploaded every day, showing the violence and destruction, the world has been able to watch as the city has been destroyed and tens of thousands have died. We've been able to see it, but it's also been all too easy to look away.

Thanks to the brave work of filmmaker Waad Al-Kateab, which can be seen below, in the past few months Channel 4 News has been able to get closer to the horror than at any time since it became impossible for us to get in. Her work has highlighted the carnage in the hospitals, and the pain of the casualties and their families, which lie behind the statistics.

As this relentless battle and carnage continues, Channel 4 News will be reporting what happens in Aleppo in whatever form we can. Every day for the foreseeable future. In no small part thanks to the bravery and skill of Waad. Please watch her films.

Ben de Pear,
Editor, Channel 4 News
A warning, these reports contain images you may find distressing.

A busy night at the Al Quds hospital. More than 200 airstrikes from Syrian government and Russian forces hit yesterday - the worst day for a month.

Baby Marwan was feeling ill one day, so his uncle took him to the doctor’s. Then a barrel bomb hit. This is his story during one hour on one day in Aleppo.