Syrian Quake Survivors Shelter in Crumbling Aleppo Homes

Aleppo, once a major commercial hub, had already been battered by over a decade of war when the 7.8-magnitude quake struck in early February. AFP
Aleppo, once a major commercial hub, had already been battered by over a decade of war when the 7.8-magnitude quake struck in early February. AFP
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Syrian Quake Survivors Shelter in Crumbling Aleppo Homes

Aleppo, once a major commercial hub, had already been battered by over a decade of war when the 7.8-magnitude quake struck in early February. AFP
Aleppo, once a major commercial hub, had already been battered by over a decade of war when the 7.8-magnitude quake struck in early February. AFP

Sitting by a bed strewn with rubble in Syria's second biggest city, Umm Mounir refuses to leave her home even though the deadly earthquake has torn a gaping hole into the room.

Aleppo, once a major commercial hub, had already been battered by over a decade of war when the 7.8-magnitude quake struck in early February, killing more than 45,000 people across Türkiye and Syria and flattening entire neighborhoods.

The building adjacent to Umm Mounir's collapsed, ripping the rear facade off her own home, but she told AFP that neither natural disasters nor conflict can make her leave.

"Nothing will make me move out of my house except death," said the 55-year-old, who lives by herself on the fourth floor of the heavily damaged seven-story building.

"I will only leave for the grave."

Her city suffered great losses in the February 6 quake that flattened 54 of its buildings and damaged historic sites.

With at least 432 fatalities, Aleppo accounts for nearly a third of all deaths in regime-held parts of Syria, according to state media.

Officials and medics across the war-ravaged country, including in opposition-controlled areas, put the overall Syrian death toll at more than 3,600 people.

"We are people of glory and wealth, but the war changed everything," said Umm Mounir, glancing at the wreckage of her wooden furniture.

"Even in the harshest years of the war we were not displaced," added the woman, whose home in the Masharika neighborhood was near the frontline. "We will not be displaced now."

More than 30 people died in Masharika after the pre-dawn quake brought down two buildings over sleeping residents.

Seemingly incessant aftershocks spooked traumatized survivors, and a 6.4-magnitude tremor on Monday rocked the same areas of Türkiye and Syria.

When the new quake hit, Umm Mounir grabbed her 85-year-old neighbor Amina Raslan, who lives on the first floor, and they rushed out.

"She can't run, so I held her hand and we walked as fast as we could," Umm Mounir said.

Raslan's son, who lives with his mother, said they "got used to the danger because our home used to be on the frontline" where rockets and missiles had rained down.

Puffing a cigarette, 55-year-old Ali al-Bash said he wished they could leave their damaged home, but that "we have nowhere else to go".

Raslan's eyes welled with tears as she recalled the destruction of the home she said her family had lived in for 50 years.

"Everything collapsed," she told AFP as her grandchildren were playing around her.

The family, like many others, did not want to move to a shelter but could not afford to rent a new home, Raslan said.

"I lost two of my children during the war. I don't want to leave my house... I don't want to lose anything else."

Some Aleppo residents, however, have left ravaged homes for tents.

Mohammed Jawish, 63, now lives in a makeshift camp with dozens of families after his building partially collapsed.

"If I still had a house I wouldn't be here," he said, watching his grandchildren -- some of them barefoot in the winter cold -- play with a worn-out football.

Jawish told AFP the quake cost him his belongings and sent him "back to square one".

"My chest feels tight when I'm in this small tent," he said. "I feel I could die from sorrow."



Will Trump Allow Russia to Set up a Military Base in Sudan?

Senior fellow in the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Cameron Hudson. (Just Security)
Senior fellow in the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Cameron Hudson. (Just Security)
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Will Trump Allow Russia to Set up a Military Base in Sudan?

Senior fellow in the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Cameron Hudson. (Just Security)
Senior fellow in the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Cameron Hudson. (Just Security)

American former diplomat Cameron Hudson said US President Donald Trump’s new administration will show an interest in the war in Sudan because it does not want the country to become a haven for terrorism.

Hudson, who is a senior fellow in the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), told Asharq Al-Awsat from Nairobi that Washington wants to preserve security along the entirety of the Red Sea coast.

This means that Iran and Russia will not be allowed to establish any bases there, he stressed.

Moreover, Hudson revealed that the Trump administration wants to expand the Abraham peace accords in the Middle East. Sudan is a signatory to the accords, he noted, while wondering how it can be implemented there amid the ongoing war between the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Peace in the Middle East is essential for there to be peace in Sudan, he remarked.

Noting a previous agreement between Sudan and Russia for the latter to set up a naval base there, Hudson questioned the credibility of the deal.

If it is true, then it will certainly be a major problem for Trump, he added. He will most likely make a strong reaction that will inform Sudan that it made the bad decision.

Trump does not want Russia to threaten his interests in the Red Sea, he went on to say.

The administration has yet to name a team on African affairs, he added, but hoped that it will do so soon because the situation in Sudan is pressing.

He expected Washington to remain abreast the developments and changes in the war in Sudan.

The army appears to be on the way to recapturing the capital Khartoum, but the RSF may seize the city of Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, which will in turn allow it to capture the whole of Darfur.

Hudson said he does not know how the Trump administration would respond to such a scenario. As it stands, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has accused the RSF of committing genocide, so it is unlikely that Washington will talk to them should any negotiations take place.

Regardless of what happens, Hudson said he was confident the Trump administration will do better than its predecessor which had viewed both the army and RSF equally.

Moreover, he said former President Joe Biden’s administration was slow in responding to the October 25, 2021, coup that took place in Sudan. The war soon followed.

The administration only hired an envoy to Sudan a year after the war erupted, he noted. It also wavered in how it dealt with the army and RSF, treating them both equally, before later saying it will only talk to the civilian forces.

The forces, however, were not organized and did not have a vision over how to stop the war, Hudson continued.

On sanctions against army commander Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, Hudson said the administration should have done so at the beginning of the war, not the final weeks of its term.

The sanctions are still in place and the Trump administration has an opportunity to use them to determine how thing unfold in Sudan, such as set conditions that could pave the way for lifting them, specifically off Burhan, Hudson explained.

The former diplomat described Burhan as “very wise” and that he is aware of how destructive the war has been on Sudan, its people and economy.

Burhan wants to stop the war, but there should first be a solution to the RSF threats. A sustainable solution is needed in Sudan so that war does not erupt again, he urged.

Furthermore, he added that Trump enjoys good ties with the Arab countries neighboring Sudan. These countries have interests in Sudan and they can be part of a deal that can help end the war.