One Manâ€™s View Into the Last Days in Rebel-Held Aleppo

Wissam Zarqa, Dec. 13, 2016

Tuesday morning, Mr. Zarqa shared images of injured people fleeing violence in the besieged areas.

Wissam Zarqa, Dec. 13, 2016

Mr. Zarqa openly opposes the Syrian government. He has been a regular contributor of audio, video, and text messages to a WhatsApp group that activists, doctors and others use to share information and opinions with journalists covering the Syrian war.

Wissam Zarqa, Dec. 8, 2016

His posts are a mix of news about attacks, political opinions, personal impressions and glimpses of daily life.

Wissam Zarqa, Dec. 3, 2016

Finally we managed to get a car to fill our water container. Now no water for all of Aleppo.

Internet connection isn't stable for most of besieged Aleppo.

Some of the messages showed Mr. Zaqra's attempts to move on with life, despite the war. Last week, he posted this audio file of gunfight near his apartment.

Wissam Zarqa, Dec. 5, 2016

Mr. Zarqa said via text message that he went to Saudi Arabia in 2011, after the Syrian conflict started, to avoid being drafted into the Syrian army. He said he returned voluntarily to Aleppo, in April 2015 to teach in the eastern half of the city then controlled by insurgents.

Wissam Zarqa, Dec. 8, 2016

Mr. Zarqa said that he got married nine months ago, and that his wife is pregnant. He often jokes about the government offensive.

Wissam Zarqa, Dec. 7, 2016

If the regime approaches my neighborhood, the first I'll do is making salad from my plants and eating it. 😊

But more often than not, his messages are grim. Last Friday, Mr. Zarqa shared a number of audio clips of renewed clashes and of what he said were warplanes dropping bombs near his home.

Wissam Zarqa, Dec. 9, 2016

The morning after, he went to a rooftop and posted this video of the damage:

Wissam Zarqa, Dec. 9, 2016

Several people in the messaging group expressed fear of being killed or arrested by the government if they left the besieged area. Most of the messages showed scenes of destruction, despair and violence.

Wissam Zarqa, Dec. 11, 2016

Over the past week, Mr. Zarqa has remained optimistic that somehow he would be able to stay in the city, even as forces loyal to the Syrian government continued to gain territory. Last week, he shared a photo of a sweater dress that his wife was knitting for the baby girl of a friend.

Wissam Zarqa, Dec. 9, 2016

My wife is making a nice dress for little Limar now. So please stop talking about the end of revaluation in Aleppo in your pieces. We are still trying to give life a chance here. 😊

On Tuesday,^[1] Russia declared the battle over, but on Wednesday shelling resumed, and a promised evacuation of the remaining fighters and their families had not begun.