Regina rally calls on Canadians to 'stand with Aleppo'

Syrian refugee Naeila Alshtar said the world has been silent while Syrians are dying.

Speaking to CBC News at a rally in Regina on Sunday afternoon, Alshtar called the situation a war crime.

"Now many children are without home, without food, without anything. They are suffering," she said. "We, as human beings, have responsibility; we have responsibility in front of these people, to save these people."

Aleppo, the largest city in Syria, has been fraught with fighting, drone strikes and war for the last four years. The country has been embroiled in a civil war since 2011. During this time, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or Daesh have taken control of large sections of the country, including the cities of Palmyra and Raqqa. 

Hundreds of thousands of people have died in the fighting. Millions more have fled.

Alshtar said she prays for God and Canada to help Syria and the refugees.

"Please save Aleppo. Stand with Aleppo," she said.

"They need assistance immediately, humanitarian aid," she said. "There is a big lack of everything in Aleppo. No food, nothing, no medication, no medical care."

Alshtar said she follows YouTube videos coming out of the Syrian city. 

"I can't explain anything more because you can't see that through the videos," she said.

Alshtar came to Canada a few months back, she said. Before that, she was a high school English teacher.

The war forced her to leave her home city, Homs. She fled to Damascus. From there, she left again, spending two years working with NGOs with a focus on helping people with their mental health in Jordan. 

"I am lucky because they chose my through the U.N. and I came to Canada but millions of Syrians are not as lucky," she said.

"They still now suffer through the camps in Jordan, in Lebanon, in Turkey. This winter is very hard for them."