A SENIOR figure in the Manchester Syrian community has said that Boris Johnson is “depending on the humanity of Russia” for the conflict in the Arab nation to end.

Dr Haytham Alhamwi, a senior figure at Rethink Rebuild Society, also criticised the involvement of “outside forces” in the country which has made the situation “very complicated”.

Speaking to Quays News yesterday, Dr Alhamwi said: “Russia will not listen to people, Russia should not listen to (other) governments when they do something, so we should protest Boris Johnson’s office to do something”.

The conflict in Syria has claimed the lives of an estimated 470,000 people, around 10% of the population, and seen 7,000,000 internally displaced since commencing in 2011.

Approximately 80 per cent of Syrians are now deemed to be living in poverty. More than three million have lost their jobs since fighting broke out in 2010, according to a 2015 UN-backed report.

Unemployment has also rocketed from 14.9 per cent in 2011 to 57.7 per cent at the end of 2014.

The leading figure in assisting Syrian refugees move and settle in the UK also believes that it will take time to rebuild Syria once the conflict is over: “If you go to a small villages or to big cities such as Aleppo you will find a large amount of destruction… but with the political situation, to have a democratic regime after this conflict after all this hatred it will take time to rebuild”.

Alhamwi also praised how ‘welcoming’ the British people are when Syrian refugees arrive in the country.

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