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Hundreds gather in front of British PM office to protest Syria war

Saturday, 22 October 2016 5:19 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 22 October 2016 7:22 PM ]

Protesters lay teddy bears outside the gates of Downing Street in central London during a protest against war in Syria on October 22, 2016. (Photo by AP)

Hundreds of people have gathered in front of the British prime minister’s office in London to demand an end to the ongoing bloody war in Syria.

Protesters gathered on Saturday at the gates of Downing Street, where they laid hundreds of teddy bears in a message to Prime Minister Theresa May about the plight of Syrian children, who are trapped in the war.

The rally was backed by Amnesty International and other activist groups, including British actress Carey Mulligan, who is an ambassador for War Child. She described the demonstration as an opportunity to “stand up and say that we need to do something real.”

“I’m safe in the knowledge that when I put Evie (her daughter) down to bed she is safe. The parents in Aleppo aren’t. They don’t know what the night will bring,” she added.

Among the protesters was Labour lawmaker Alison McGovern, who said 50,000 children have been killed in Syria since 2011. “There are 100,000 children trapped right now in Aleppo,” she added.

British actress Carey Mulligan speaks during a protest in London on October 22, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

“How many schools, hospitals and families must be bombed before Syria becomes a priority?" asked said Bert Wander, Avaaz campaign director. “If the prime minister fails to act, history will judge her harshly.”

Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, has been the scene of a deadly war in which the terrorists resort to mortar attacks and use civilians as human shields.

In an attempt to free the trapped people of the city, the Syrian army, backed by Russian fighter jets, has engaged in a major offensive since September 22 to end the militants’ reign of terror in the east.

The town has been divided between government forces in the west and the militants in the east since 2012.

A demonstrator holds a placard that reads "save the Aleppo children" during the protest in London on October 22, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Russia announced a unilateral ceasefire in Aleppo on Thursday in an effort to allow medical evacuations and aid deliveries to the civilians. Since then, no Syrian or Russian air strikes have been reported in Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Militants, however, refused to accept the ceasefire, as they prevent civilians from leaving east Aleppo.

In September 2014, the US and some of its allies started conducting airstrikes inside Syria against Daesh terrorists, many of whom were initially trained by the CIA to fight against the Syrian government.

Russia also launched its own air offensive one year later against the terrorists. According to analysts, The Russian campaign has broken the backbone of Daesh and other militants, and has provided the Assad government an opportunity to defeat the foreign-sponsored terrorist onslaught.

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