Kane Williamson will captain the T20 World Cup squad for a fourth time as New Zealand hunt for a maiden title
cricket7 hours ago
“There will be no party. There will be no celebration this year, because all the people are refugees, and I’m scared of dying,” he says, standing tall in his jalabiya at a sheep market on the edge of Syria’s second city.
Business is slow at the scraggy, stoney land given over to sheep merchants desperately trying to make a quick sell in the last few days before Eid.
“I came here to the market just to pass the time and see what’s going on, but I can’t buy a sheep because I don’t have the money,” said Abu Hamid.
Sheep of all sizes, both large and scrawny, were roped to the ground, but few customers were looking and even fewer were buying.
“This year won’t be like before. This year, there’ll be no Eid in Syria,” says Mohammed Aasi, 20, who has a clothes shop in Aleppo.
“I came to buy a sheep but can’t find what I need and the prices are so expensive. We’re talking about around 15,000 Syrian pounds ($220). Last year it was 11-12,000,” he said, his blond hair and beard closely cropped.
“People don’t have enough money even to buy new clothes and there won’t be anything special because everyone is so sad,” he added.
Hopes are slim in Aleppo of a truce during Eid, which begins on Friday, as announced by peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi from Cairo.
The administrator of one field hospital who asked that its name not be published, said only six people had been brought in with injuries on Wednesday, wondering if it was a sign of a possible ceasefire.
“There may be a truce, I’m not sure, but there isn’t a lot of fighting today,” he said.
In the cluttered lobby, two medics bent over a man as blood poured out of shrapnel wounds in his head and dripped onto the floor, turned into bloodied footprints by shoes of the doctors stitching his injuries.
Al Nusra Front, which has claimed the majority suicide bombings in the Syrian conflict, has rejected any question of a truce.
President Bashar Al Assad’s regime says it will take a “final decision” on Thursday and the Free Syrian Army, the main rebel group, says it will only observe a truce if government forces stop shooting first.
But for Umm Ahmed, 36, shopping with her sisters and youngest daughter for shoes for winter, there is little hope of a happy festival.
“We’re just surviving. I’ve borrowed money from my brother just for food. The schools are closed in Aleppo and the kids are at home all day. I don’t even let them go to the shops for sweets because I’m so frightened,” she said.
The shoe shop was small and dank. Hamood Mohammed Ali, a friend of the owner, says the electricity has been off for two days, and only pale light filtered through the front window from the street outside.
“There’s no work, no money. Everything is so expensive and we can’t even leave the neighbourhood because of snipers. Two days ago, for example, a guy aged around 30 tried to and he was shot dead by one of the snipers on the very high buildings,” said Ali.
Kane Williamson will captain the T20 World Cup squad for a fourth time as New Zealand hunt for a maiden title
cricket7 hours ago
Vehicle owners must bring their old plates along to the inspection station
uae7 hours ago
Clean sweep for UAE in golf as the hosts win team gold and Rayan claims individual title
sports7 hours ago
Silva announced his farewell on Monday in an emotional video message on Chelsea's website
football8 hours ago
Protest organizers deny accusations of anti-Semitism, arguing that their actions are aimed at the Israeli government
world8 hours ago
Images published on the weekend showed Bollywood superstar actor Shah Rukh Khan sweating profusely while watching his team train
cricket8 hours ago