- Title: SYRIA: Residents begin returning to Azaz, as rebels claim control
- Date: 25th July 2012
- Summary: MURAI'S CHILD DRINKING WATER FROM A BUCKET
- Embargoed: 9th August 2012 13:00
- Keywords:
- Topics: War / Fighting
- Reuters ID: LVA6VO85AZZTJF25UFDVOWQ2DPOW
- Story Text: In the Syrian town of Azaz rebels on Wednesday (July 25) appeared in control after heavy clashes over the past month in which they succeeded in driving out government forces, leaving the place a rubble-strewn virtual ghost-town.
For months the Syrian army had laid siege to rebellious town of 35,000, positioning its tanks in the city centre and using their high-calibre guns to suppress public dissent.
But emboldened by rebel advances in the surrounding areas, the town of Azaz rose up this month and, in a final push, battled Assad's troops in the town's dusty streets, finally driving the government soldiers out last Sunday (July 22).
Only five kilometres (three miles) from the Turkish border, the victors in Azaz have taken a town in ruin.
"Assad's planes are hitting us night and day and his tanks are shelling us from north and east. We have no electricity and no water, we are living in very, very hard conditions. We pray to God that it will never happen again, however thanks to God we achieved our goal and we liberated Azaz," said local resident Abu Khaled.
Some houses lie collapsed in heaps of rubble that have been pounded by tank fire, while the remaining buildings stand scorched or pock-marked with bullet holes.
Burnt-out tanks struck by rebel rocket-propelled grenades sit motionless on the town's roads while spent bullet casings lay strewn across the ground next to an old leather Russian tank helmet.
A mosque in the town's centre that served as a base for Assad's army is now all but destroyed, scorched tanks and armoured vehicles immobilised in its courtyard. Sandbags stacked in the mosque's windows mark deserted army sniper positions.
Young children clamber through the rubble where worshippers once performed ablutions.
With the town now in rebel hands, small signs of life have begun to emerge as residents slowly return to their homes to inspect the damage.
Many of those in Azaz, speak in both Arabic and broken Turkish, a reminder of the town's proximity to its northern neighbour.
"What we want from everyone is to unite and work together," said local resident and rebel fighter Abu Mohammed in Turkish.
Rebel fighters prowl around the town in cars, AK-47 rifles still slung over their shoulders.
53-year-old Walid Murai was holed up in his house with his wife and children in his hometown for seven days as rebel fighters battled to gain control of the town from President Bashar al-Assad's forces.
With their food running low and tank fire skimming the roof of their two-storey home, Murai decided it was time to leave. He knocked a hole in his living room wall, gathered his wife and 12 children and led them through to his neighbour's home next door.
"They are demolishing the walls from here, they demolished the walls 8 meters deep and then they came to us," said Murai as he pointed at damage on the wall of his home.
From the hole knocked on his living room wall his family passed from house to house until they reached the outside, escaping to the relative safety of the surrounding villages. After hiding there for three weeks, the family was finally able to return on Monday (July 23).
Rebels in the town said many of the government troops had retreated to a helicopter base some 12 kilometres outside Azaz during the rebels' push to expel them over the last three weeks.
They said their fighters had surrounded the base, cutting off their supply lines and were waiting for the troops to surrender. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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