Aleppo: Grateful for a cucumber after 30 days of siege This is a photo of journalists posing with a cucumber, celebrating the arrival of food to the besieged city of […]

This is a photo of journalists posing with a cucumber, celebrating the arrival of food to the besieged city of Aleppo.

Syria has been ravaged by civil war for five years and fighting has intensified in Aleppo recently. Residents in the city have been coping without access to fresh food, water, and electricity over the past month.

The photo was taken by journalist Louai Barakat and was captioned: “Thank God some vegetables are entering Aleppo.”

The i newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription.

Families have been forced to cook leaves off trees to survive, using clockwork lamps, and sourcing water from wells.

A letter from medics to President Obama asked for urgent help in eastern Aleppo. There are 15 doctors left for the 300,000 people living there and hospitals continue to be bombed.

Under siege

Aleppo, in the north of Syria, is roughly divided between government control in the west and rebel territory in the east.

The situation in the rebel-held part became particularly dire during a government siege, which began last month. The siege trapped a quarter of a million citizens in the eastern part of the city, blocking supply routes and leading to food and water shortages.

The siege finally was broken – reportedly by opposition forces – on Saturday and in recent days, convoys of food, including fresh vegetables, and aid have started to arrive.

According to some media reports, food and aid supplies have come from rebels, possibly fighters with Jaysh al-Fatah. The trucks are believed to originate from the city of Idlib.

After 30 days of Siege, East #Aleppo gets first aid convoy, not from UN, but nearby rebels. Via @nadamant pic.twitter.com/2gnSiJr5hj — Joyce Karam (@Joyce_Karam) August 7, 2016

However the food won’t last long. The UN has called for a humanitarian pause to deliver supplies. Undersecretary-general Stephen O’Brien said: “We have supplies ready to roll, food rations, hospital supplies, ambulances, fuel for generators, water supplies and more. We could deliver these within 24 to 48 hours if we have safe access.”

Joseph Willits from the Council for British and Arab Understanding told the i: “Ultimately it is not entirely clear which rebel groups delivered the aid convoy to east Aleppo, however reports suggest that those who drove it are rebel fighters with Jaysh al-Fatah, Ahrar a-Sham and others. Only rebel fighters would be able to secure access, provide protection for the convoy, and get the food in, given that the road is so dangerous.

“What this delivery of produce has highlighted is huge criticism for the UN who have so far failed to ensure humanitarian aid is sent to eastern Aleppo. It yet again forces the narrative that Syrians under siege are being failed by the UN, and are having to rely on various rebel groups – a trend that highlights the international community’s failure in Syria.

“One only has to look at the images coming from eastern Aleppo of celebrations at the arrival of cucumbers, apples, tomatoes and eggs to realise the toll that such a siege has taken upon residents. Such images of celebration over fruit and vegetables from people who have previously been under siege should not lead to further inaction, but demonstrate the increasingly urgent need to do even more for those enduring hellish conditions. Something which should have been done long before it got this bad.”

On Thursday Russian forces said they would suspend action for three hours a day to allow in more aid. UN officials said this was too short.

Despite this three-hour pledge more clashes have been heard in and around the city. There are also reports of a chlorine gas being dropped in a barrel bomb in a rebel-held area, killing four and injuring many others, according to volunteer emergency workers.

Life in Aleppo

Limited supplies

When government forces blocked a main route – the Castello Road – into rebel-held parts of the Aleppo in July, residents reported that supply lines were cut. Bakeries could not be replenished with flour.

Queues formed outside, residents waiting to get their hands on the staple food product.

Empty markets

Until the recent supply of fresh vegetables, markets lay bare during the siege.

No water or electricity

The UN children’s agency said two million residents in Aleppo have been left without access to water and electricity. It comes after the cit’s infrastructure was hit by attacks.

“In the eastern parts of Aleppo up to 300,000 people – over a third of them are children – are relying on water from wells which are potentially contaminated by fecal matter and unsafe to drink,” said a Unicef spokesman. And lack of water in the summer heat puts all residents at risk.

Water shortages have been a daily battle for citizens in both the government-controlled and rebel-held areas during the war. Aid agencies are reportedly delivering drinking water to around 325,000 people a day in western Aleppo.

Air strikes

Syrian government forces are being supported by Russia through air strikes. The strikes have killed civilians and caused masses of damage to Aleppo’s infrastructure.

This image shows residents looking for victims under the rubble after a reported air strike.

Damage

Reported air strikes have left people homeless. This man is carrying his personal belongings, a street of destruction behind him.