Aleppo’s ordeal did not end yesterday without another act of violence, this time a volley of gunfire which injured four people who were clearing the way for the ambulances and rescue buses.
Two of those injured were members of Syria’s White Helmets, the volunteer group operating in opposition territory, whose rescues of civilians trapped in the rubble have attracted admiration and a Nobel peace prize nomination.
Bibres Mashaal was in a serious condition and undergoing surgery yesterday evening, the organisation said, while Mohammed Zahra was also wounded but in a stable condition.
Mr Mashaal was in an ambulance while Mr Zahra was operating a digger when they came under fire, apparently from a pro-regime checkpoint.
In the course of the war, 154 White Helmets volunteers have died, including about 30 from Aleppo. The group has been vilified by the regime’s spokesmen, partly because it is funded by western governments. The organisation has also been accused of being a front for al-Qaeda in Syria and has been criticised for working across rebel-held areas, including those that are controlled by jihadists.
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James Le Mesurier, a former British army officer who runs Mayday Rescue, an organisation in Istanbul that oversees fundraising and training for the White Helmets, said the vilification meant that they now feared regime retribution. “They [the regime] view the White Helmets as being vermin, and as vermin they face eradication,” he said.
Many other civilians and fighters in the city also feared for their future.
Ibrahim Hamo, a fighter with the Shamiya Front, said he had sent his family out on the first convoy and would soon follow. “We feared a massacre and revenge by the regime forces, so it was good to have them out,” he said. “We are happy because we had been unable to do anything for the children, who were getting weaker and afraid every day that passed, and now they have the chance to live a better life.
“However, the greatest tragedy is that we are leaving our land. We saved our lives but lost a homeland.”
A group of 47 orphans in a shelter near the front line were confirmed as safe by a worker for Save the Children yesterday. The orphanage director was attempting to organise a new home for them outside the city.