Pray for Aleppo and Syria

Russia has announced a daily halt to hostilities in the Syrian city of Aleppo, for three hours each day, starting yesterday, Thursday 11th August, to allow aid convoys to reach the city.

However, a witness in Aleppo told the BBC there had not been any ceasefire on Thursday, contrary to what the Russians had said, and AFP news agency reported that trucks carrying food were unable to enter Aleppo on Thursday because of intense bombardment.

Syrian state news agency said army troops had seized territory south of Aleppo on Thursday, but it made no mention of the proposed “humanitarian windows” announced by Russia.

Earlier some of the last doctors in the rebel-held east of Aleppo appealed to US President Barack Obama to come to the aid of the 250,000 civilians still living in that part of the city. They said that in the past month there had been 42 attacks on medical facilities in Syria, 15 of them on hospitals where they work.

Middle East deputy director of Human Rights Watch, Nadim Houry, confirmed this, saying: “With heavy bombing continuing relentlessly in Aleppo especially, hospitals and clinics need to be treated as the sacred life-saving places they are, not as additional bombing targets.”

Meanwhile, attacks on civilian infrastructure have left more than two million people without electricity or access to the public water network for several days.

The UN are also investigating reports of chlorine gas bombs being dropped on Aleppo, with reports of many casualties, including children and the elderly.

• Pray for peace to come to Aleppo, a city under siege and the main focus of fighting in Syria at this time.
• Pray for the government and rebel forces to agree to a ceasefire in order to allow aid convoys into Aleppo, and for a willingness to bring an end to the fighting.
• Pray for those affected by the latest bombings including the chemical attacks. Pray for healing of body and mind, for peace and comfort, and an end to the targeting of civilians and medical facilities.
• Pray for the upcoming talks on Syria as they aim to bring an end to hostilities in Syria.
• Pray for the Holy Spirit to move in this nation and region, to bring hope to the hopeless, healing and comfort to those who mourn and a hope for the future of this shattered nation.

1 Kings 8 vs 28: “Have regard to your servant’s prayer and his plea, O Lord my God, heeding the cry and the prayer that your servant prays to you today”

Source: http://www.bbc.com/news, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/