There’s a humanitarian crisis happening in Syria right now that is seemingly getting worse on a daily basis. CNN’s senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen has been on the scene in Syria for the last week, and has spent the last few days filing stories from inside Aleppo. He reached Aleppo’s Old City on Wednesday, and has witnessed scores of citizens fleeing the eastern part of the city over the past couple days as the rebel forces continue to lose their grip on the area. Civilians have been getting killed in the crossfire between the Syrian military and the rebel opposition, and the eastern part of the city has basically been reduced to rubble at this point.
Pleitgen referred to his experience there as “among the worst things” he’s seen in his entire career, and contrary to Russia’s promises, it appears that there has not been a halt in fighting on Friday. If anything, the fighting has gotten worse today. Here’s a look at Pleitgen’s report for CNN’s New Day:
A close-up look at the crisis in Aleppo w/ @fpleitgenCNN, who says the fighting has gotten worse than it was before. https://t.co/jUTEPrZgax
Advertisement— New Day (@NewDay) December 9, 2016
Pleitgen spoke with TVNewser’s Mark Joyella this morning about how witnessing all of the destruction and suffering has affected him so deeply:
“You can’t report on Syria without being affected. The destruction is on such a large scale and the human suffering is so bad that it can be quite overwhelming. I think all media folks have their own way of dealing with it. I talk about it openly and say when something affects me. I think keeping things inside will only cause it to eat you from within. I also try to make sure that all team members I am with can feel that they can be open about things that affect them. Often talking about it and understanding that the others are affected as well really helps. It is normal for humans to be traumatized when they witness horrible things. I would be more concerned if I was not affected.”