Life in east Aleppo goes from bad to worse as desperate civilians loot food stores

ALEPPO // For 41-year-old barber Mostafa Ibrahim, it would take a "miracle" at this point to save rebel-held eastern Aleppo, where he has weathered more than five years of war and now two months of total siege.
When Syrian government forces and their allies encircled the city's east again in September, things looked bad. Now, it looks worse.
The United Nations says its partners' food stores in the city have run empty. Hungry civilians are looting what stockpiles still exist. A rebel offensive to break through the siege from the outside has failed.
Some rebel groups have now turned to fighting one another. Russia has moved a fleet of warships off the coast of Syria, including its sole aircraft carrier, to intensify its contribution to the war. Diplomacy is dead in the water, with the rebels and international powers left with little muscle to pressure Russia or the Syrian government into a ceasefire let alone negotiations.
The final death blow, however, may have been decided by voters in the United States last week when they elected Donald Trump as their country's next president.
Mr Trump has said his Syria policy will be a departure from that of Barack Obama, who called for the removal of Syrian president Bashar Al Assad and provides aid and training to rebel groups in the country. Instead, Mr Trump intends to solely focus the US's fight on ISIL and says that Russia and the Syrian regime are actively fighting the group, despite evidence that they dedicate most of their resources to fighting the country's rebels.
"I've had an opposite view of many people regarding Syria. My attitude was you're fighting Syria, Syria is fighting ISIS, and you have to get rid of ISIS," Mr Trump told The Wall Street Journal last week in his first interview as president-elect.
Inaction on Syria would itself likely be a death blow to Syria's rebels. Without US interest or diplomatic pressure, Russia and the Syrian government would have a free hand to act more aggressively without fear of consequences.
But beyond inaction, Mr Trump has continued to argue that Russia and the Syrian government are focusing their fights on terrorists. His openness to growing closer to the Kremlin is also concerning for rebels, who fear they could go from friends of the US to de facto enemies within months.
Mr Al Assad, a man Mr Obama threatened to go to war with in 2013, has seemingly extended a hand to Mr Trump, saying he would welcome cooperation.
In an interview with Portugal's RTP state television on Tuesday, Mr Al Assad described Mr Trump's election as "promising" but said he did not "have a lot of expectations" for a new American administration. He added that if Mr Trump fought terrorism, they would be "natural allies".
Syrian opposition leader Riad Hijab was quick to congratulate Mr Trump on his victory, asking him to help deepen the American friendship with Syria's rebels and work to confront the Syrian government. But given what Mr Trump has said - including statements questioning trusting the Syrian opposition - Mr Hijab's pleas will likely fall on deaf ears.
In Aleppo, things are looking bleak for the estimated 275,000 civilians trapped in the city's east as winter sets in.
"Trump already said before winning that he would cooperate with Putin and he also said that Aleppo has already fallen, which is not true," said Khaled Ashram, 42, who lives in east Aleppo's Sukkari district. "He will just fight ISIL, doing nothing against the regime or its constant crimes against us."
If nothing changes, Mr Ashram fears that eastern Aleppo may finally fall to government forces within a month.
Right now, life in the city is falling into disarray as air strikes resumed on Tuesday after a weeks-long pause.
Syria's rebels, once regarded as saviours by many in eastern Aleppo, are now driving divisions. They are unable to provide for the civilians trapped there, unable to overcome government forces on the front lines and unable to keep the peace in the city.
"They don't have the respect and admiration like it was before," said Mr Ibrahim, the barber.
Earlier this week, a large group of civilians looted food stores in east Aleppo's Bustan Al Qasr neighbourhood. Rebels tried to dissuade the crowds but failed. Elsewhere, fighters are said to have clashed with protesting civilians.
"It was total chaos and many Free Syrian Army fighters were just standing there looking at the thieves," said Mr Ibrahim.
As the war in Aleppo continues to descend into its darkest days, frustration is growing. And if the rebel foothold on Aleppo is lost, it is widely believed they will lose the war.
"They do nothing," said Mr Ashram. "Every week they just tell people to stay calm and be brave and strong until they open a road ... and that's what we thought would happen until the last offensive left us shocked with the big loss we had. It made us kind of hopeless knowing when this will be over."
In Aleppo, fate already seems written to many.
"Every side and every country has already chosen what its role is in the Syrian war, and now this is the result of it," said Mr Ibrahim. "They will no longer help us and will allow Assad to recapture what is left of the city."
Mr Trump "will do nothing as well", he added. "His reaction will be a bit closer to [Russian president Vladimir] Putin, applauding his crimes and his victories in bombing and killing 'terrorists' and civilians."
jwood@thenational.ae
*Josh Wood reported from Beirut