For those who live in peaceful settings far away from the fighting in Syria, it’s hard to imagine the scenes of war happening in our own communities.
Aleppo, a city in northern Syria, has been the epicentre of the fighting for much of the conflict.
Since July, small numbers of people have been able to flee due to the fighting and siege of the city. Many of them of ended up in refugee camps in nearby Turkey and Jordan.
The United Nations reports there are approximately 30 doctors left in eastern Aleppo to help the hundreds of thousands of people trapped there.
WATCH: Why we should care about Aleppo (Oct. 13)
Using the best information available, Global News wanted to illustrate what life in Toronto would be like if similar events happened in Canada.
According to 2005 data, Aleppo had a population of more than 2,300,000 people while Toronto’s population at the time was around 2,500,000.
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Like Toronto, Aleppo is not the capital of its country. But up until the start of the war, it was the country’s cultural and economic hub.
Global News anchor Farah Nasser and journalist Erica Vella used research and statistics to present a rough idea of how a conflict, like the one unfolding in Aleppo, would impact a city like Toronto.
READ MORE: Intense bombing leaves all hospitals in eastern Aleppo out of action
As many look to escape the situation in Aleppo and other affected regions, Lifeline Syria continues to offer a sponsorship program that allows Canadians to help Syrian refugees coming to Canada.
“We have 2000 Syrian refugees waiting to be resettled in Canada and we can’t submit them to the government until we match them to a sponsor group,” said Lesley Brown, executive director with Lifeline Syria.
Brown said there has been a decline in the amount of sponsorships over the last several months.
Erica Vella contributed to this report
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