Aleppo Residents Fed Up with Syria’s Rebellion

Commercial, Industrial Hub in Ruins as Battle Continues

The Syrian industrial capital of Aleppo is a site of industry and commercial activity no longer. Some six months into a rebel siege on the city which the rebels promised would be over in a matter of days, the city is now a patchwork of bombed neighborhoods and various factions, both rebel and regime, constantly testing one another’s defenses.

Back in July the locals bought into the idea of a quick victory, and rebel promises to ensure basic life needs were met across the city while the fighting was ongoing. Needless to say, neither turned out to be the case.

And now Aleppo’s residents, at least the ones who haven’t fled, are fed up with the ongoing war, with the rebels, with the whole messy ordeal. Aleppo is a city of business, and there’s none to be had.

No industry, no markets, even the price of food is skyrocketing. Locals want one thing, and that’s a return to normalcy. Of course the combatants never really asked them what they want, and regime nor rebels are liable to care all that much how unhappy they are being the battlefield.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.