Heartbreaking messages from people living in Aleppo, Syria portray the horror of the current situation in the besieged city.
The Syrian army and its allies are in the “last moments before declaring victory” in Aleppo, a Syrian military source said, after rebel defences collapsed on Monday, leaving insurgents in a tiny, heavily bombarded pocket of ground.
And as the battle enters its final hours, those who remain in the embattled east of the city have sent powerful, sobering last messages.
It comes as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) urges those fighting in Syria’s Aleppo to do all they can to protect and spare civilian lives.
The ICRC says in a statement on Tuesday that thousands of people with no part in the violence “have literally nowhere safe to run.”
The dramatic appeal came after Syrian military announced the previous day it gained control of 99 percent of the former opposition enclave in eastern Aleppo, signaling an impending end to the rebels’ four-year hold over parts of the city.
ICRC says a deepening humanitarian catastrophe and further loss of life can be averted only if the basic rules of warfare - and of humanity - are applied.
Retaking Aleppo would be President Bashar Assad’s biggest victory yet in the civil war, the Associated Press reported.
Meanwhile the UN has described a “complete meltdown of humanity” in Aleppo with pro-government forces reportedly entering homes and killing dozens of civilians - including women and children.