An American journalist trapped along with 300,000 residents is filing dispatches from East Aleppo, which has been besieged by government forces.
He describes the horrors faced by residents who are shelled constantly and whose hospitals have been destroyed.
The morning sun casts an eerie glow over the city's quiet streets. Aleppo's buildings have been pulverized by missiles. In some of their remains, you can see a clock hanging on the wall, clothes in an open closet, toys in the rubble. It's hard to imagine that each apartment once had a living, breathing family inside it.
This Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016 photo provided by the Rumaf, a Syrian Kurdish activist group, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows two men carry an elderly person out of rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo into the Sheikh Maqsoud area that is controlled by Kurdish fighters, Syria. Syrian state media is reporting that government forces have captured the eastern Aleppo neighborhood of Sakhour, putting much of the northern part of Aleppo's besieged rebel-held areas under state control. (The Rumaf via AP)
My driver is Ahmad. He's a skinny guy from a small village. He and I get along well, although he speaks a dialect that takes me a few seconds to understand whenever he talks. He has other important work that keeps him busy but he likes to help us out. Unfortunately, my car ran on gasoline — one of the first casualties of the siege as there isn't a drop of it to be had in the city — but Ahmad's runs on diesel.
My gasoline ran out weeks ago, and my trusty car was subsequently hit by an air strike. Now to get to a story we either grab a ride from someone, run to the site (if we know the direction), or hitchhike. It's not the most security-conscious way to travel, but it's the best we can do under the circumstances.
The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman
<figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-d8f8c84fdc1bb3da4b84d53ed4e947db.jpg" alt="Photo - President-elect Donald Trump talks to the media as he stands with retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J., Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)" title="President-elect Donald Trump talks to the media as he stands with retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J., Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)"><figcaption>President-elect Donald Trump talks to the media as he stands with retired Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J., Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-bd2319ec1a0e58766712a4f5dafce4d0.jpg" alt="Photo - This Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016 photo provided by the Rumaf, a Syrian Kurdish activist group, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows two men carry an elderly person out of rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo into the Sheikh Maqsoud area that is controlled by Kurdish fighters, Syria. Syrian state media is reporting that government forces have captured the eastern Aleppo neighborhood of Sakhour, putting much of the northern part of Aleppo's besieged rebel-held areas under state control. (The Rumaf via AP)" title="This Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016 photo provided by the Rumaf, a Syrian Kurdish activist group, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows two men carry an elderly person out of rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo into the Sheikh Maqsoud area that is controlled by Kurdish fighters, Syria. Syrian state media is reporting that government forces have captured the eastern Aleppo neighborhood of Sakhour, putting much of the northern part of Aleppo's besieged rebel-held areas under state control. (The Rumaf via AP)"><figcaption>This Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016 photo provided by the Rumaf, a Syrian Kurdish activist group, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows two men carry an elderly person out of rebel-held eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo into the Sheikh Maqsoud area that is controlled by Kurdish fighters, Syria. Syrian state media is reporting that government forces have captured the eastern Aleppo neighborhood of Sakhour, putting much of the northern part of Aleppo's besieged rebel-held areas under state control. (The Rumaf via AP)</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-e5c7a23d2000bd6980c8d90ef7dd29ab.jpg" alt="Photo - The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman" title="The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman"><figcaption>The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-8a04d168cf5c7d725c47b5cba473ba99.jpg" alt="Photo - The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman" title="The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman"><figcaption>The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-d85c36f717cd677896a699f7c1b7e19f.jpg" alt="Photo - The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman" title="The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman"><figcaption>The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-a0831871560fe87f84c61fc1bb4abeee.jpg" alt="Photo - The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman" title="The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman"><figcaption>The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-ac703a1408ec40e2cf6e2d52785db8b7.jpg" alt="Photo - The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman" title="The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman"><figcaption>The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-df5f4cb10482c4b878806a3381c81c2d.jpg" alt="Photo - The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman" title="The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman"><figcaption>The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="//cdn2.newsok.biz/cache/r960-d2634c988972546a378977b196d87d6d.jpg" alt="Photo - The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman" title="The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman"><figcaption>The former Hagen and Clyde Bros. Circus camp off of N. Kelly Avenue north of W. Edmond Road in Edmond. The circus was owned by former OSU basketball player Howard Suesz and spent winters in Edmond. Photo by Brianna Bailey, The Oklahoman</figcaption></figure>
Juliana Keeping
Juliana Keeping is on the enterprise reporting team for The Oklahoman and NewsOK.com.
Keeping joined the staff of The Oklahoman in 2012. Prior to that time, she worked in the Chicago media at the SouthtownStar, winning a Peter Lisagor Award...
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