Aleppo civilians return to bombed-out neighborhood
ALEPPO, Syria -- In Syria, the battle for Aleppo is increasingly one-sided. Government forces, backed by Russia, are flattening neighborhoods held by rebels, and 200,000 civilians are trapped.
In the bombed out buildings of Hanano, comfort is measured in small doses. Families huddle around fires for warmth.
Five days ago, this neighborhood in Aleppo was in rebel hands, but after days of bombing it’s been re-taken by the Syrian military.
These the children have grown up in this war.
Thirteen-year-old Amal said she stopped going to her school two years ago when a shell landed nearby.
When asked if the sound of shelling bothers her, she answers “nah, nah. It’s all too familiar to even worry about.”
On a bus bound for another newly-reclaimed neighborhood, Hanan Mahmoud sobs quietly as she clutches her 14-month-old daughter.
Her husband has just been led away by the Syrian military on suspicion of being a draft dodger.
After five days in a shelter, everyone is desperate to get back home -- but there’s not much left of the neighborhood.
With the rebels gone, at least they won’t suffer the daily bombings from the Syrian military. Mahmoud said she was “terrified all the time.”
But that relief has come at a terrible cost.