(Zaman Al Wasl)- The economic and industrial capital of Syria was almost completely absent from the revolutionary scene during 2017.
The city witnessed the displacement of the inhabitants of its eastern neighborhoods in the last week of 2016. The most prominent events for Aleppo province in 2017 was the expulsion of the Islamic State forces from the towns and villages in its eastern countryside, and Aleppo’s resistance factions fighting among themselves.
At the beginning of 2017, the city of Aleppo in both its eastern and western parts was theoretically under the control of the regime forces and its supporting foreign militias. The Russian Defense Ministry announced the dispatching of a military police battalion which includes Chechen members to Aleppo under the pretext of securing the eastern neighborhoods following the displacement of these neighborhoods’ residents.
The displaced population of Aleppo are distributed among the opposition controlled cities and towns in northern Syria amid difficult humanitarian conditions. The incoming humanitarian aid is limited and the aid has been rationed over time. Also dozens of humanitarian and relief organizations suspended their work after a short period where the factions were fighting among each other.
Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham faction announced its formation at the start of 2017, after it swallowed most of the factions that left Aleppo for Idlib and its countryside.
At the end of January 2017, several major factions in northern Syrian announced their integration into a new military component under the name Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. The Hay’at includes Fatah al-Sham Front, Nur al-Din al-Zenki Battalion, Liwa al-Haq, Ansar al-Din Front, and Jaish al-Sunnah. These factions chose Hashim Sheikh as their leader after Fatah al-Sham Front started fighting the Syrian resistance factions that had participated in Astana conference including Jaish al-Mujahideen which was forced to dissolve and integrate into Arar al-Sham Movement. Several other factions followed suit including Suqour al-Sham Brigades, Jaish al-Islam and Tajamu Fastaqm Kama Amart.
On February 23, 2017 the Syrian resistance factions announced their participation in the Euphrates Shield operation supported by the Turkish army, and that they gained control of the strategic city of al-Bab in Aleppo’s eastern countryside following battles with the Islamic State forces.
The following day, the Turkish state announced that the Euphrates Shield operation carried out in cooperation with the Syrian resistance factions had achieved its objectives.
General Hulusi Akar, the Turkish Chief of Staff of Turkey, confirmed that “by taking control of al-Bab city, the tasks set when the operation was launched were achieved.”
“Assistance will then be provided to normalize life so that the local population can return to their homes quickly,” General Akar said.
The Turkish General Staff confirmed that after taking control of al-Bab city, the Syrian resistance factions control approximately 2225 square kilometers of land in northern Syria as a result of military operations completed under the Euphrates Shield operations.
On the level of violations against civilians, the regime warplanes committed a massacre in the city of al-Atareb west of Aleppo which is one of the biggest massacres to happen in the province in 2017. At least 170 people were killed and many more were wounded.
On November 13, 2017, the regime airplanes targeted the main market of al-Atareb using highly explosive missiles, resulting in the extensive destruction of the market and many civilian houses. Many civilians were buried under the rubble. Some 20 members of the Free Police were killed in the massacre.
The biggest tragedy for the people of Aleppo remains the tragedy of their displacement from their city regardless of if they left the city in the displacement process that ended with the beginning of 2017 or if they were displaced from their areas after the Kurdish forces and regime forces divided up control over their areas.
Zaman Al Wasl
Comments About This Article
Please fill the fields below.