LONDON (AA) – Syria’s opposition-held local council of Aleppo reached out to the new mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, congratulating him on his recent election victory.

In the open letter published by Syria Solidarity U.K. organization, a network of activists, the Aleppo council cited the British capital’s own history of hardship, calling on Khan to stand in solidarity with their city.

“London’s Great Fire is over but Aleppo is still burning. The world knows of the brave spirit that carried London through the Blitz of 1940 and 1941, a terror that killed 40,000 civilians across Britain. After five years, we are still living through air attacks in Aleppo. Tragically, many times more civilians have been killed in Syria than were killed in the Blitz,” the letter read.

The letter signed by Lawyer Zakaria Amino, deputy head of the Aleppo local city council, also expressed gratitude for a recent march by British doctors and healthcare workers in solidarity with medical workers in Syria.

“We hope that as mayor of London you will be a friend to Aleppo, to stand in solidarity with the city Aleppo that is still burning,” the letter stated.

Khan made British history on May 5 when he was elected the first Muslim mayor of London.
Author Büşra Akın Dinçer

[Photo: Members of a Syrian opposition group are seen after they took control of Beyloni village with grain silos from Daesh terrorists located in the northeastern district of Mari in Aleppo, Syria on May 12, 2016. Photographer: Hüseyin Nasır/AA]