Syrian kids create no-fly zone above besieged Aleppo

Syrian children trapped in the ruins of Aleppo are attempting to create a no-fly zone above the battered city by burning tyres.

The Syrian government is tightening the noose around the rebel-controlled wasteland that used to be the country's most populous city, pummelling what's left – and those left behind – with Russian-backed airstrikes.

But civilians and rebel sympathisers inside the besieged metropolis have decided to retaliate to the fighter and helicopter attacks, taking to the streets and torching tyres to send up a protective blanket of thick black smoke above their heads.

Many of the participants, as propaganda circulated by activists shows, are children and, as the BBC reports, their strategy is making life difficult for airmen.

"It's causing confusion for the jets and a diversion for the offensive on the ground that aims to break the siege," journalist Rami Jarrah told the British news service.

"Everyone is doing it but to participate in the resistance this is really the only thing the children can do."

The children's contribution to the war effort is being showcased online under the hashtags #AngerForAleppo and #AleppoUnderSiege , where the youngsters are being praised for their bravery as they rush through the streets collecting fuel.

The campaign is also levelling criticism at the US, which many rebel sympathisers claim has failed to protect Syria's civilians from Assad and his formidable enforcer, the Russian military.

But Aleppo may soon fall regardless of the grassroots effort, with quarters in the city's east cut off by government forces.

Making matters even worse for those inside is a rapidly dwindling supply of fuel and water, as Albawaba reports, and ever diminishing freedom of movement.