Aleppo ground zero of the civil war

 ISIS recaptures Palmyra, as Pro Regimes forces main focus is Aleppo City.

Entering the Old City of #Aleppo yesterday to evacuate people. Ruins lined the narrow streets, making it nearly impossible to get through. pic.twitter.com/UEH2hJkrey

— ICRC Syria (@ICRC_sy) December 8, 2016

In five years Aleppo has been torn apart by fighting between government forces, opposition supporters, and rebel groups. Syrian government forces state they have taken hold of 98% of the city. Currently, 80,000 are trapped, even with the negotiations reached by the Turkish and Russian intelligence to allow moderate rebels to flee to Idlib province. The cessation of hostilities does not pause the artillery bombing nearby. As of today, civilians and rebels blocked from leaving by pro-Assad militias.​

Aleppo city has been divided with the east becoming an opposition stronghold and under siege. The east was cut off from receiving supplies and in August hospitals were destroyed. The humanitarian situation is facing major challenges civilians are caught in the heavy fighting, 80,000 are trapped and airstrikes by the Russians and Syrian forces continue in several neighbourhoods.

The humanitarian situation is grave but what are the contributions of the international community in dealing with the crisis; when the UN is unable to evacuate civilians just 4 kilometres away. The situation has reached a level whereby civilians are being ‘shot on the spot’ by militias.

Jens Larke a UN spokesman said "complete meltdown of humanity" in the city.

Have just announced a #CessationOfHostilities in the east of #Aleppo
And at the same time have just got another artillery bomb nearby.

— Zouhir Al-Shimale (@ZouhirAlShimale) December 13, 2016

ISIS exploited the concentration of pro-government forces focus in Aleppo, to capture nearby oil and natural gas fields in conjunction with key positions in the mountains overlooking Palmyra. Currently, as reported by the Institute for the Study of War' ISIS subsequently capitalized upon its advances to launch an attack against the T4 (Tiyas) Airbase between Palmyra and Homs City. Heavy clashes reportedly remain ongoing as of December 13.

The question now is what is to be done about the Syrian leader, the GCC are not willing to work with Assad as pointed out by the Qatari Foreign minister HE Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani.

"the regime had not been punished in the past and therefore it is indifferent about accountability in the current time, and it continues political siege and starvation."

Is it the failure of the international community system that has led the government to make gains and the territory controlled by the rebels to shrink significantly. The question now is will President Assad be defeated, recent events clearly state he cannot be defeated militarily. The United States initially said they wanted President Assad to go, they are not reiterating this statement any longer. Do they believe that Syria is safer under Assad than under ISIS or Jabhat Al Nusrat?

"The International Red Cross has pleaded for humanity before military objectives, and urging it must happen now."

Syrians are right to state the international community has abandoned them ICRC statistics on the conflict reveal 6.3 million people displaced inside Syria. 250,000 people have been killed whilst 5 million are located in besieged hard to reach areas. Will the crushing of Aleppo be an indicator of future conflicts in the Middle East?

Syrian Arab Red Crescent and ICRC provide care for a patient evacuated from the Old City of Aleppo. © Noor Hazouri / SARC