'This might be my last broadcast from Aleppo'

Rebel-held Aleppo, or Free Aleppo as supporters of the Syrian rebellion call Eastern Aleppo, has shrunken by a third over the past several days as Assad's forces continue their blitz under cover from relentless aerial bombardment.

Between 200,000 and 300,000 civilians are estimated to be still in the city. A majority of them are rebel sympathisers, or at least this is the conclusion one comes out with after talking to the people there with what little means available-- Skype, Twitter, Facebook and...Periscope.

If, or as is it seems now likely when, Free Aleppo falls to regime forces, what will befall these civilians? 

Given the regime's history of ongoing atrocities, from deploying chemical weapons on residential neighbourhoods to systematic torture and mass killings, many civilians still in East Aleppo, already reeling from the regime's siege and starvation tactics, are afraid for their lives should they be captured by the regime.

And rightly so. On Monday, Amnesty International said it has received reports of Syrian security forces detaining men in Aleppo areas that have returned to government control.

Amnesty International said it has received reports of Syrian security forces detaining men in Aleppo areas that have returned to government control

Twitter Post

Rami Zein, a resident of East Aleppo, used video-sharing app Periscope to send what he ominously said could be his last broadcast out of the city

"Keep us in your prayers...or think about us," says Zein.

Twitter Post

Others were still hopeful help could come. As the White Helmets said they have run out of fuel for rescue operations, and as the city faced the prospect of famine, desperate citizens of East Aleppo made a video plea for help.

But with the international public opinion largely silent over the past 6 years, and world leaders largely complicit, there is little cause for optimism.