Aleppo: What you need to know

Aleppo is a city in Syria. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

Before the war Aleppo was home to over 2.1 million people. That’s about the population of Houston, Texas.

It was a thriving city known for its rich cultural history dating back thousands of years.

Aleppo has a long history of music, architecture, and cuisine shaped by its location as a crossroads along ancient trade routes from Asia, Europe, and North Africa.

The Battle of Aleppo is part of the Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011 following the Arab Spring anti-government protests across the Middle East.

A refugee child waits above the rocky shore in Lesvos, Greece

The resulting conflict between the factions within Syria has been violent and brutal.

This father escaped with his wife and two young children to Turkey.

As many as 400,000 Syrians have been killed since the war began.

A woman and child at a refugee center set up in a warehouse in Greece.

An estimated 6.3 million people have been uprooted from their homes inside Syria due to the fighting.

Photo: Jesse Giddings

And another 4.8 million Syrians are living as refugees in surrounding countries.

Darashakran refugee camp just outside Erbil, Iraq

Half of the displaced are children and youth.

Photo: Jesse Giddings

Many refugees have left behind everything except what little they could carry.

Photo: Jesse Giddings

Hundreds of thousands have tried to escape to safety by crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe.

Refugees arriving at Lesvos, Greece. Photo: Crystal Wells

Thousands have drowned.

Lifejackets along the shores of the Mediterranean. Photo: Crystal Wells

After surviving a traumatic and physically exhausting journey, many are in need of food, water, medical care, psychosocial support, basic supplies, and other critical humanitarian assistance.

Hazam, a father of three and former kids’ soccer coach, cradles his sick two-year-old at an International Medical Corps primary health care clinic. “I want to teach again, but first I want to save my children from war,” he says. Photo: Crystal Wells

As the city of Aleppo is retaken by the Syrian Government, there is still no end in sight to the war, and no certain future for the millions of men, women and children forced to flee their homes.

International Medical Corps began operating in Syria in 2007.

Today, International Medical Corps provides medical relief, health care and training in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

We support refugees by providing primary health care, mental health and psychosocial support, and training and support to prevent gender-based violence.

We distribute hygiene kits and conduct training on essential hygiene topics to help prevent the spread of disease.

And we train community health workers.

No matter where, no matter what the conditions, International Medical Corps is there providing lifesaving medical care for millions of people all over the world.

Photo: Crystal Wells

Help Syrians get lifesaving medical care.

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