Opposition-controlled areas in Aleppo experienced a state of relative stability in the past few months, as a number of displaced people returned and schools and shops reopened their doors. But the situation has become tense again in early October as clashes erupted between opposition fighters and regime forces. These clashes, and shelling, have forced some of the families that returned to Aleppo’s Salah al-Din and Mashhad neighbourhoods to flee once more.
Photography by Zaid Mohammad.
Activists lead an activity to offer psychological support to the children at the Martyr Abdel Qader Shasho school in the Salah al-Din neighbourhood, which has witnessed intensified shelling recently. September 10, 2013.
The sense of safety the teachers tried to establish is fading. In the Salah al-Din neighbourhood, the Abdel Qader Shasho school, now operating out of a residential apartment, closed its doors after the shelling. October 10, 2013.
Residents in the Mashhad neighbourhood seek shelter in the doorways of buildings among billowing smoke from a recently dropped artillery shell. The shells are being fired from the “Artillery School” in the Rawasimah neighbourhood, headquarters of Air Force intelligence. The regime has not tried to infiltrate the Salah al-Din neighbourhood but has instead indiscriminately shelled it. October 10, 2013.
Last year, when the Bashar al-Assad’s regime began shelling neighbourhoods in Aleppo, any shell that fell on a residential neighbourhood would shut it down entirely. This man never closed his shop until a bomb fell nearby. October 10, 2013.
A woman tries to find out what happened to her relatives who were injured during the shelling on the Mashhad neighbourhood. Members of the civil defence team tried to calm her down, and one team member accompanied her to the hospital in a car belonging to the Free Syrian Army to search for her relatives. October 10, 2013.
A group from the “Free Aleppo Governorate Council” leads a team of former firemen on a sweep of a street in the Mashhad neighbourhood about a half hour after the shelling. October 10, 2013.
Paramedics and fighters from the Free Syrian Army enter a store in the Mashhad neighbourhood to rescue the injured and inspect the damage. A man and two children were wounded when shells exploded on the street. The man was transported to Turkey owing to his critical condition, while the two children escaped with minor injuries. October 10, 2013.
Residents in the Salah al-Din neighbourhood have formed local relief organizations for emergency situations, despite an acute shortage of equipment. October 10, 2013.
A fighter in the Free Syrian Army awaits orders in the Salah Al-Din neighbourhood to deploy to the Aathamiah neighbourhood, which is controlled by regime forces. October 10, 2013.
A fighter from the Free Syrian army takes a rest in the Salah Al-Din neighbourhood before the next round of fighting. October 10, 2013.
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