IN PHOTOS: Thousands of Danes show support for Aleppo
The Local Denmark - [email protected]
Published: 15 Dec, 2016 CET.
Updated: Thu 15 Dec 2016 09:23 CET
Danes held torchlight processions in cities across the country on Wednesday night to lend support for the victims of the battle that is raging in Aleppo, Syria.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces have taken control of the city in attacks that have left hundreds of civilians dead and created a situation that a UN spokesperson called “a complete meltdown of humanity”.
Thousands of Danes showed their support for the people of Aleppo by holding demonstrations in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense, Roskilde and Rønne. A demonstration in Aalborg is scheduled for Thursday night.
A demonstrator stands on the shoulders of others in front of Christiansborg in Copenhagen. Photo: Astrup/Scanpix
“We want to show that regular people have not forgotten them, even though world leaders are behaving as they are,” Aarhus demonstrator Trine Wehner told broadcaster DR.
“This isn’t about politics anymore, it is about humanity,” Anne Amorøe said from the Copenhagen demonstration in front of parliament.
Demonstrators at Aarhus City Hall. Photo: Kim Haugaard/Scanpix
Earlier on Wednesday, newly-appointed Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen created a minor controversy but declaring that Denmark and the West could do nothing to stop the slaughter in Aleppo.
“I think it is an insolvable situation. When Assad and Russia decide to fully commit to it, there isn’t much that Western democracies can do,” he told TV2. “I don't want to try to pull the wool over anybody’s eyes. This is the reality.”
“We are waiting for a new administration in the US. The Western world does not have the capacity to go in with ground troops. There is no one in parliament asking for that. Everyone agrees that it is terrible to see, but we need to admit that we are in a situation of powerlessness,” Samuelsen continued.
A demonstrator displays a Syrian flag in Copenhagen. Photo: Jens Astrup/Scanpix
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces have taken control of the city in attacks that have left hundreds of civilians dead and created a situation that a UN spokesperson called “a complete meltdown of humanity”.
Thousands of Danes showed their support for the people of Aleppo by holding demonstrations in Copenhagen, Aarhus, Odense, Roskilde and Rønne. A demonstration in Aalborg is scheduled for Thursday night.
A demonstrator stands on the shoulders of others in front of Christiansborg in Copenhagen. Photo: Astrup/Scanpix
“We want to show that regular people have not forgotten them, even though world leaders are behaving as they are,” Aarhus demonstrator Trine Wehner told broadcaster DR.
“This isn’t about politics anymore, it is about humanity,” Anne Amorøe said from the Copenhagen demonstration in front of parliament.
Demonstrators at Aarhus City Hall. Photo: Kim Haugaard/Scanpix
Earlier on Wednesday, newly-appointed Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen created a minor controversy but declaring that Denmark and the West could do nothing to stop the slaughter in Aleppo.
“I think it is an insolvable situation. When Assad and Russia decide to fully commit to it, there isn’t much that Western democracies can do,” he told TV2. “I don't want to try to pull the wool over anybody’s eyes. This is the reality.”
“We are waiting for a new administration in the US. The Western world does not have the capacity to go in with ground troops. There is no one in parliament asking for that. Everyone agrees that it is terrible to see, but we need to admit that we are in a situation of powerlessness,” Samuelsen continued.
A demonstrator displays a Syrian flag in Copenhagen. Photo: Jens Astrup/Scanpix
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