Syrian rebels in Aleppo are burning tires to fill the sky with black smoke and blind pilots targeting rebel positions inside the city, The Washington Post reports.
The rebels declared it their own makeshift no-fly zone, and may have limited the ability of Russian and Syrian pilots to identify targets from the air. Russia and the Assad regime have significantly intensified air strikes on Aleppo since cutting the last remaining ground supply line into the city. The regime intensified its terror campaign July 24 against hospitals and killed a two-day-old baby.
Assad hopes to bleed rebels of any support, believing that by frequently targeting humanitarian, medical, and other aid facilities he can accelerate their surrender. Despite a devastating five years of civil war, 300,000 civilians remain inside Aleppo. One humanitarian activist told Al Jazeera there are now only two bakeries in Aleppo to serve the remaining 300,000 customers.
Syria’s rebel opposition has held positions inside Aleppo for nearly five years, and is unlikely to overcome Assad, Iran, and Russia’s overwhelming firepower. Assad and his allies hope to exploit the firepower advantage and civilian misery to lessen rebel resistance and resources. Russia and the regime recently announced “safe corridors” through which it would allow civilians to pass through unmolested.
The corridors were largely ignored by Aleppo’s population, who do not trust the Assad regime after five years of deliberate civilian bombardment. The population also fears sectarian persecution, and many do not have the money or a place to go even if they were to flee the city. Despite their presence, Russia and the Syrian regimes will likely increase their air campaign to break the rebel siege of several neighborhoods in Aleppo.
When Aleppo eventually falls to Russia and the Assad regime, it will be the biggest battlefield victory the regime has had since the beginning of the civil war in 2011. Aleppo is the largest city inside Syria and prior to the civil war served as the country’s commercial capital. Control of Aleppo, its people and resources, will negate any rebel bargaining power in a negotiated settlement essentially ensuring Assad’s continuity in power for years to come.
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