After another deadly day in Syria with reports of a hospital in Aleppo being hit by bombs, the fighting struck a chord with those in Calgary.
READ MORE: Russia, Syrian government bomb Aleppo hospital
People with friends and family in the Middle Eastern country made a plea for it stop at a rally in front of City Hall Saturday.
Protesters held brightly painted signs to contrast the gloom and cloudy sky.
The U.N. says at least 400 people, many of them children, have been killed in the city this week alone as a result of Russian and Syrian government attacks.
READ MORE: Russian airstrikes killed 9,300 people in past year; including 906 children
The mounting body count has sparked international protests, including the Global Day of Rage for Aleppo.
Many of the people who attended the rally are newcomers to Calgary and once lived in war-torn Syria.
“We have lost some in the regime prisons under torture – cousins, three my family have lost. Like my wife, other relatives have lost some (who) were directly shot at in the early protests,” demonstrator Obadah Al Sawadi, said.
Nearly 300,000 people are trapped in Aleppo’s rebel-held eastern districts.
“Enough is enough. You want to fight these terrorist groups, then fight these terrorist groups. Spare the civilians,” Saima Jamal, the protest organizer, said. “Downtown Aleppo, residential areas, everything is just getting pummeled to the ground.”
Defense workers said the area has been hit by 1,900 bombs in the past week and many will not leave, despite the danger.
“Many have fled with their lives but they’re not leaving Syria. Many are still there and no matter how many evils – including terrorists, they’re not going to make it. Syrian people have been there, they’ve seen too many faces come and go,” Al Sawadi said.
The faces in Calgary who choose to demonstrate, hope to save their loved ones half a world away.
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