Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] Thousands of Armenians remain in militant-held Aleppo, Syria, and the Armenian authorities are ready to help evacuate them, but there is no way to ensure their exit from the city or deliver humanitarian aid. At least one member of the Armenian community has been killed in the renewed fighting.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot", due to the intensification of hostilities in Syria, on November 27, the Armenian authorities withdrew a group of humanitarian demining specialists and medical workers from the republic. The Armenian humanitarian contingent of 83 people had been working in Syria since February 2019. The mission participants returned to Armenia on November 29.
The Islamist armed group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham* (recognized as terrorist in Russia and banned) attacked President Bashar al-Assad's forces in Aleppo on December 1, forcing government troops to leave the city, which had been controlled by Assad's army since 2016. On December 5, the Islamists said they had launched an offensive on the city of Hama, located south of Aleppo in the direction of Damascus, Reuters reported. Hama, the fourth-largest city in the country and of key importance, is already fully controlled by the militants, as is the local military airfield - "one of the largest in Syria", which was used by government forces, Al Jazeera reports. Aleppo residents said they were experiencing a shortage of bread and fuel, and telephone communications were cut off. The UN food agency said that as a result of the latest fighting, 280,000 people were forced to flee their homes.
A discussion on the situation of the Armenian community of Aleppo and the situation after the capture of the city by Islamist militants took place on December 5 at the Yerevan Media Center. Participants in the meeting stated that leaving Aleppo is currently unsafe and the possibilities for evacuation are extremely limited, a correspondent for the "Caucasian Knot" reported, who watched the live broadcast of the discussion on the organization's YouTube channel.
According to official data, by the beginning of the war in 2011, about 100 thousand Armenians lived in Syria, of which about 60 thousand lived in Aleppo. In Damascus, the Armenian population was about 6 thousand, another 30 thousand lived in Latakia, Kessab, Qamishli, Homs, Raqqa, Hasakah, Deir ez-Zor. More than 60 thousand Armenians were forced to leave Syria because of the conflict. Today, about 30 thousand Armenians live in Syria, most of whom live in Aleppo, according to a publication on the website of the office of the Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs in Armenia.
The situation in Syria has developed so rapidly that it has become impossible to organize an evacuation, in particular from Aleppo, said the head of the repatriation department of the Office of the Chief Commissioner to the Government of Armenia, Oganes Aleksanyan.
"In the first two days, it was possible to take families out of Aleppo to Damascus or Latakia via secondary roads, but not via the main highway, which is controlled by the rebels. Now, however, it is practically impossible to leave the city; all exits are controlled by the Islamists," he said during the discussion.
A government spokesman reported a casualty among the Armenian population of Syria. "In the first days, a local Armenian was killed by a sniper on the road from Aleppo," Aleksanyan said.
On November 30, 66-year-old Aleppo doctor Yervand Arslanian was fatally wounded by a sniper on the road from Aleppo to Selemia, the Syrian Armenian newspaper Gandzasar reported. "The wounded man was taken to a hospital in Hama, where he died," the newspaper writes.
According to various estimates, between 10,000 and 12,000 Armenians live in Aleppo, the head of the department added. "After the start of the Syrian conflict, most of them left the country, but there were also those who did not want to leave their homes. It is possible that some would have left, in particular Aleppo, if not for the rapid development of events, but the majority, in my opinion, will not leave the city," he suggested.
Aleksanyan also noted that the office maintains contact with the community in Aleppo. "Although the city is controlled by militants, this time they have chosen a strategy of good neighborliness in communicating with the townspeople, and do not resort to atrocities. Food is brought from Idlib ( controlled by Islamists since 2017, - note from "Caucasian Knot" ), electricity is supplied. After the start of the war in Aleppo, there were rolling blackouts, but after the capture of the city, the intervals between power supplies increased," he explained.
With the assistance of the Cilicia Catholicosate of the Armenian Apostolic Church, assistance has been established for the Armenian community of Aleppo, since after the capture of the city, goods have become several times more expensive. "It is virtually impossible to send humanitarian aid, the airport is controlled by the rebels. If the situation escalates, it is necessary to look for opportunities, since we will have to deal with the rebels, not the Syrian government. In any case, we must be ready to organize the evacuation of Syrian Armenians. There is such experience - evacuation from Ukraine, Israel and Lebanon after the explosion in the harbor," Aleksanyan emphasized.
Most Syrian Armenians have dual citizenship, noted Sergey Kazinyan, a human rights expert at the Center for European Studies at Yerevan State University. "Having a second Armenian citizenship obliges Armenia to provide protection to them. Unlike people with foreign citizenship, those who have Armenian passports cannot receive refugee status or apply for asylum. But in the case of mass migration, as was the case after the ethnic cleansing in Artsakh (the self-name of Nagorno-Karabakh), the Armenian authorities may decide to provide temporary protection. In this case, group status is equivalent to refugee status," he said during the discussion.
The Armenian authorities have experience in assisting foreign communities with the support of the international community, the human rights expert added. "In 2016, the Armenian government developed a program to assist Syrian Armenians. They met the refugee status, as they fled the conflict zone due to massive human rights violations. This factor made it possible to organize assistance," Kazinyan explained.
Mass emigration is a serious challenge for Armenia, given the limited opportunities, so Armenia is forced to seek international assistance, including from the UN, he added. "The UN has been providing assistance since the start of the Syrian war in 2011," the human rights expert emphasized.
Local residents avoid contact with the rebels, Aleppo resident Maria Gabrielyan told Radio Liberty on December 4. According to her, Aleppo is controlled by Islamists.
"Armenians of Aleppo have started going to work, opening shops for a few hours. There is a problem with bread in the city, but the community is not left without bread. All those in need are given bread at the Aram Manukyan Center. They also promised financial assistance to all Armenian families. After the capture of the city, goods have almost tripled in price," said a resident of Aleppo, whose words were translated by a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot."
Schools and kindergartens are still closed, and the rebels have announced plans to change the curriculum, Gabrielyan noted. "It is difficult to say whether government forces will be able to retake the city. The townspeople live in fear of uncertainty. Leaving the city is risky and unsafe. Several families have managed to leave the city," said an Aleppo resident. She also added that the body of the slain 66-year-old doctor has still not been transported to Aleppo for burial.
The Armenian Embassy in Syria stated on December 3 that there was no possibility of organizing the evacuation of Armenians from the country, but the Foreign Ministry was closely monitoring the situation and would consider all options if an evacuation was possible. At the same time, the Consul General of Armenia in Aleppo left for Damascus for a meeting at the Syrian Foreign Ministry before the start of active hostilities and was unable to return, the Armenpress news agency reported.
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