Syria: Aleppo is Burning and Western Media is Silent

Eva Bartlett
InGaza
“Aleppo/Daraa: The death toll from terrorist attacks with rocket shells launched by Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists on al-Zahraa town and residential areas in Aleppo city rose to 16 killed and 86 injured.” ~ SANA
Two days ago, a friend in Aleppo messaged me:
“Aleppo is burning. Numerous shells.”
He was not referring to the lies found in corporate media on Aleppo, but instead to the unreported reality: foreign-backed terrorists have continued mortaring, rocketing, hell-cannoning Aleppo’s residential areas.
Since his message, various Syrian news outlets and individuals have reported on further bombardments of Aleppo, as well as yet another terrorist bombing in Damascus’ Sayyeda Zeinab district, an area which has been repeatedly targeted by western-backed terrorists.
From Damascus countryside, Syrian journalist, Mohamed Ali, wrote:
“Live from the explosion scene near Sayyeda Zeinab quarter in Damascus countryside. At least 8 people killed and 20 injured.
Later, Xinhua updated, “Death toll rises to 15 in Syria checkpoint car bomb attack”, noting:
“…The driver passed through two military checkpoints and when he reached the third at the entrance of the town of Diyabiyah south of the Shiite district of Sayyidah Zaynab, soldiers demanded to thoroughly search the vehicle and that’s when the driver set it off, said the source on a condition of anonymity.
The car was a white double cabin pick-up truck, laden with at least 100 kilograms of explosives…
If the vehicle had succeeded to pass through the third checkpoint unchecked properly, it would have reached a densely-populated area and it would have caused a massacre, according to the source…”

On the January 31 explosions, Ali reported: “Three terrorist explosions rocked Sayyeda Zeinab quarter in Damascus countryside. At least 45 killed, 110 injured.”
His video report on the explosions noted:
“This is one of the deadliest attacks that hit Sayida Zenab quarter since the start of the unrest in Syria. But the residents here said such explosions will not stop them from supporting the Syrian army in the fight against terrorism.
The fact that the suicide bomber blew himself up when the civilians gathered proves terrorists aimed to kill as much as possible of civilians, and punish them for their loyalty to the Syrian army.”
Mohamed Ali updated me on today’s Aleppo martyrs alone:
“Today, terrorist mortar attacks on Aleppo killed 16 people and injured 86.”
Bear in mind that “injured” includes many who are critically-injured, many of whom will likely add to the number of martyred in coming days [For example, see: University Hospital, Damascus: Meeting Victims of Western-backed Mortar and Rocket Terrorism, from Feb 2015 visit to Syria].
*Feb 2015: “At the bed of the first injured child, the female doctor explains, “Both her legs and her hands are injured. There is a fragment inside her brain. She had surgery, and now she is in the intensive care.” “Her situation is very dangerous,” an older nurse says. “She could be dead any minute.”

*Feb 2015: “In another bed,  the third child (a three year old)’s head is wrapped in bandaging. Her case is critical, Ali tells me. She lies still, her only movement from the mechanical ventilator.”

For more on the silence of western/corporate media on actual acts of terrorism against Syrian (and Lebanese, Iraqi, etc) civilians, see: Where is the West’s compassion & condemnation following terror attacks in Middle East?
Today, Syrian analyst Kevork Almassian noted:
“Within only 24 hours, the Turkish backed terrorists showered the residential areas of ‪#‎Aleppo‬with 200 unguided mortars and gas jars, killing many many civilians.
As a passionate reader of history, I’ve never seen such shameful silence by the international community over the horrific atrocities committed by the so called “rebels”. In the contrary, the Western governments are praising ‪#‎Erdogan‬ and empowering him on the expense of our lives in ‪#‎Syria‬.”

SANA on April 23 reported:
“Four civilians were killed and 56 others were injured when terrorists from Jabhat al-Nusra and other terrorist groups affiliated to it targeted the residential neighborhoods in Aleppo city in new breaches of the cessation of hostilities.
A source at Aleppo police command said in a statement to SANA reporter that terrorists fired rocket shells on al-Nile Street and al-Mukambo residential neighborhoods in Aleppo city on Saturday afternoon, injuring 10 civilians and causing material damage to public and private properties.
Later on Saturday, the source said that terrorist organizations targeted residential neighborhoods with rocket shells, killing a woman and injuring 3 in al-Iza’a neighborhood in addition to killing 3 civilians and injuring 33 in al-Ashrafiyeh.
The source also said that terrorist rocket and mortar attacks on al-Khalidiya, al-Hamadaniyeh, al-Zahra’a, al-Sabeel, and al-Assad Suburb neighborhoods injured a total of 10 people, 3 of them children…
In Damascus Countryside, a mortar shell fired by terrorists on al-Wafideen Camp area  left a child dead and a woman injured, according to a Police Command source….”
On April 24, SANA reported:
“One civilian was killed and 4 others were seriously injured on Sunday as terrorists committed a new breach of the cessation of hostilities agreement by targeting al-Sqeilbiyeh city with 14 rocket and mortar shells.”
SANA report quoted a source at Hama Police Command as saying that the shells were fired from al-Jaberiyeh village where terrorists from “Ahrar al-Sham Islamic Movement” and Jabhat al-Nusra are operating.
Four of the shells hit residential neighborhoods, while the other 10 fell in the surroundings of the city, which is located in the northwestern countryside of Hama, according to the source.
A source at Aleppo Police Command told SANA that a woman was killed and 6 civilians were injured Sunday in shelling attacks by terrorists from Jabhat al-Nusra and other armed groups linked to it in Aleppo city.
Later, SANA’s correspondent in the province reported that the death toll of the rocket and mortar attacks carried out by terrorists on residential areas in Aleppo city within the past 24 hours rose to 10.
The correspondent quoted a source in the province as saying that in addition to the 10 lives they claimed, the terrorist attacks on the neighborhoods of al-Ashrafiye, Manyan, Saif al-Dawla, al-Khalidiye, Nile Street, al-Hamadaniye, and al-Mukambo injured scores of civilians and caused considerable damage to more than 100 houses, 7 mosques, 3 schools, and 20 cars.

On April 25, SANA reported:
“…Jabhat al-Nusra and other armed groups affiliated to it targeted with rocket shells several residential neighborhoods in Aleppo city on Monday.
A source at Aleppo Police Command told SANA reporter that three of the shells fell in al-Sulaimaniyeh neighborhood, claiming the lives of 3 children and injuring 17 people, some of them are in critical situation.
19 more civilians were injured by a number of shells that hit al-Izaa (radio) neighborhood, according to the source.
Two other shells hit Bab al-Faraj neighborhood and Qurtuba roundabout in al-Zahraa neighborhood, injuring 2 civilians.
Earlier, the source said three rocket shells fired by terrorists positioned in Bani Zaid neighborhood landed in the neighborhoods of al-Jamiliyeh, Mogambo and al-Ashrafiyeh, leaving a woman dead and five people injured….”
Photos from Syrian News today:


Related commentary by Mohammed Ali:

“Yesterday, 24 April, 2016, a little girl fell victim, among many others, to the cruel and barbaric bombardment of the peaceful government controlled neighborhoods in City of Aleppo by Erdoghan’s Turkey terrorists.
In the photo a single shoe and breakfast left behind by the angel little girl.
This was occurring everyday in Aleppo since the last parliament elections earlier this month.” ~ Sandra Agobian

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Eva Bartlett: Canadian activist/freelance journalistst. I’ve lived cumulative ~3 years in Gaza, spent time in Lebanon and visited Syria 4 times since April 2014. Anti-zionist, anti-imperialist, pro-justice.
READ MORE SYRIA NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Syria Files