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‘Man-made earthquake’: Russian documentary shares untold stories of 4yr Aleppo siege

20-6-2018 < RT 64 518 words
 

Aleppo, once Syria’s thriving industrial hub, is now trying to rebuild itself from rubble. How did it happen, and why? A Russian documentary seeks answers to those questions, and tells stories of life during the siege.


Aleppo was Syria’s most populous city and a vibrant industrial hub before the war. Its residents were relatively well-off, with small businesses and tourists keeping most people afloat. None of this is the case anymore.


A 2011 rebel uprising and a terrorist invasion of Aleppo brought as much damage and death as the powerful earthquake that struck the ancient Syrian city back in the 12th century, according to a thought-provoking documentary by Russia’s ANNA news outlet.



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Entitled ‘Aleppo Earthquake,’ the film features real-life stories heard by ANNA’s war correspondents from ordinary Syrians who lived in the city during the terrorist occupation, or those who joined the Syrian army and took up arms against foreign jihadists.


At the beginning of the film, Muhammad Abdallah, member of the pro-government Liva al-Quds militia force, tells of his family’s life before the war. “I worked as a bus driver on the Aleppo-Damascus route... it was a unique country,” he recalls in a trembling voice. “My wife could go to the market at one o’clock in the morning and buy everything she wanted, and then she would safely come home,” the man says.


Life has changed forever for all Aleppo residents following the Arab Spring-inspired protests which quickly turned violent. Isam Rifat al Shili, Aleppo Police chief, and Mudar Nadim al Jidari, a local police officer, recall how anti-government protesters were forming fully-fledged armed militias, which began to open fire at police and security forces as they tried to restore order in the troubled city.


All-out hostilities between rebels and the Syrian army broke out in 2012, with the former steadily losing ground to well-equipped militants. In a matter of months, rebel units – reinforced from abroad – encircled government troops trying to defend the Aleppo area, the documentary says.


“We spent eight months in encirclement,” says Yahya Khaled, a young cadet in Aleppo’s military engineering academy. “The hospital was defended by just 85 soldiers… we had little food and ammunition, we ate leaves from trees and orange juice from tablets.”


As the militants tightened their grip, pro-government forces decided to retreat to the Aleppo prison. “They have tried to storm the wall around the prison many times,” Abdallah recalls. “Every day they bombarded us with mortars, sent suicide bombers – there were even suicide bombers on BMPs.”


READ MORE: How Aleppo’s parkour stars withstood ISIS & reclaimed their dreams (VIDEO)


The militiaman, who has six daughters and a son, adds: “These were hard days. I don’t like remembering them because at the time I didn’t believe I would be able to get out of there alive.”


Watch the full film here:





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