The catastrophic humanitarian situation in Aleppo has prompted local ulema to call for a special prayer for Syria on Tuesday night. The conflict in Aleppo has reached disastrous proportions as the Syrian army and its allies have taken full control over all the districts abandoned by rebels during their retreat in the city.

The United Nations said on Tuesday it had reports that Syrian government troops and allied Iraqi militias had killed civilians in eastern Aleppo, including 82 people in four different neighborhoods in the last few days.

In a statement, the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) called for the recitation of Surah Yaseen in all Masajid after Maghrib as well as Qunoot Nazilah for the people of Syria.

“The MJC notes with great concern the continuous pain and grief of the people of Syria, especially those in war torn Aleppo. The masses in Syria continue to suffer at the hands of the despot, Bashar Al-Assad supported by Iran, Russia and other countries. We beseech all Imams of Masajid to cooperate with the MJC in this very important call,” said secretary general Shaykh Isgaak Taliep.

The Jamiatul Ulema in KZN issued a similar statement.

In a sobering detailing of events by the White Helmets on Tuesday, the volunteer civil defense NGO said the situation in Aleppo was incomprehensible.

“The bombs are falling as we write this. For years our humanitarian volunteers have worked to save the lives of our people in Aleppo: operating in underground hospitals, rescuing entire families buried under the rubble and risking our lives to document what the daily war crimes committed by Assad regime and its ally Russia. We can do no more,” said the NGO in a statement.

“Now we are with 100,000 civilians trapped in an area of five squared kilometres with the non-stop bombs, shells and advancements on the ground. In one building more than 500 people are sheltering. People have been underground for days.”

The volunteer search and rescue workers have implored on the international community to provide a safe passage out of Aleppo for the remaining 100,000 people.

“We know that the UN has a plan to get us out across the 4 kilometres of Western Aleppo to safety: with a few dozen buses and lorries we could all be evacuated in twenty four hours. However, we need you to guarantee the safety of their workers and our own,” the statement.

“If we stay we fear for our lives. The women may be taken to camps, the men disappeared and anyone who is known to have supported civilians will face detention or execution.

“We’ve watched thousands of our boys and mens be detained. Countless White Helmets, doctors, nurses and humanitarians have been targeted and killed in the regime’s cruel assault on Aleppo. The regime has been trying to kill us for five years. Please don’t give them this chance.

“We cannot believe that the world’s most powerful countries cannot get 100,000 souls four kilometers to relative safety.”

Meanwhile, the South African Muslim Network has planned a Twitter Storm tonight from 8pm – 9pm. Samnet is urging all Twitter users to tweet about Aleppo in order to bring much-needed awareness to the plight of the people in the war ravaged city.

Twitter users can use the hashtag #IamAleppo