Demonstration in Brussels against bombing of Aleppo

Several hundred people gathered at the Schuman roundabout in Brussels on Tuesday evening between 17.00 and 19.00. The demonstrators came together near the European institutions to protest against the bombing of the city of Aleppo in Syria, writes De Morgen.

'Save Aleppo', read one large banner in a show of support for the quarter of a million citizens who are currently besieged in the Syrian city. The participants laid white linen on the ground, symbolising the deaths of hundreds of children and other innocent people who have been killed in bombardments of the city, especially over the last 10 days.

The protesters are outraged by the violence, and blame the Syrian regime and the Russian army for targeting civilian and humanitarian infrastructure such as hospitals and schools. "These are crimes against humanity," says Ghazi Elrass, president of the association, 'Network of Supporting the Syrian People in Belgium'.

"The Syrians do not want to come to Belgium as refugees; they want to live in peace in their own country," Elrass continues. "Europe must intervene, Europe must ensure that a war zone is defined so that citizens are no longer a target."