Aleppo's limping recovery shows limits of battered Syrian state

Record ID: 904205

  • Title: Aleppo's limping recovery shows limits of battered Syrian state
  • Date: 26th July 2017
  • Summary: ALEPPO, SYRIA (JULY 16, 2017) (REUTERS) DAMAGED BUILDING AND RUBBLE IN STREET IN AL-KALASA DISTRICT BOY RIDING BIKE NEAR RUBBLE IN STREET VARIOUS OF DAMAGED BUILDINGS TRAFFIC DRIVING ALONG ROAD PEOPLE FILLING BOTTLES WITH WATER FROM LARGE TANKS BOTTLE BEING FILLED WITH WATER MAN FILLING WATER BOTTLES MAN WITH WATER BOTTLES ALEPPO, SYRIA (JULY 10, 2017) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) IT TUTOR AND FATHER OF FIVE CHILDREN, ALAA AL-DIK, SAYING: "I need 18,000 lira a month for electricity, 15,000 lira for water. If we add them the amount is 33,000 lira and my salary is 40,000 lira. Then I have only 7,000 lira left. All this is without counting medicines, food or gas. What can we do? We stand steady but we need more attention to this area." ALEPPO, SYRIA (JULY 10, 2017) (REUTERS) SHOPS IN STREET VARIOUS OF MACHINERY IN DAMAGED BAKERY VARIOUS OF DAMAGED BAKERY (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) JOBLESS MAN WITH A FAMILY OF FIVE, MAZEN ALSHEIKH, SAYING: "There are no controls on the sale of electricity. The water situation is bad and we do not receive water. The transport links are weak. There are no buses. You either take a taxi or walk." ALEPPO, SYRIA (JULY 16, 2017) (REUTERS) DAMAGED SCHOOL IN AL-KALASA GRAFFITI READING (Arabic): "SUNNI PATRIOTS" DAMAGED SCHOOL HALLWAY CHILDREN SITTING AND LEARNING IN MOSQUE SIGN READING (Arabic): "BADER MOSQUE INSTITUTION" CHILD READING KORAN CHILDREN READING KORAN CHILDREN SITTING IN ROWS CHILD READING KORAN WITH MAN (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ALEPPO'S ASSISTANT GOVERNOR, ABDULGHANI QASSAB, SAYING: "On the first aid level, the municipality and the executive office provided the medical support and the first aid services that facilitated the return of the habitants." MARKET WITH VEGETABLES GRAFFITI ON WALL VARIOUS OF MARKET STALL TOMATO PRESSING SHOP MEN PRESSING TOMATOES TOMATOES IN SHOP WOMAN WALKING IN STREET PEOPLE SITTING BY ENTRANCE OF BUILDING SHOPS IN AREA MAN STANDING OUTSIDE SHOP TRACTOR AND TRAFFIC IN STREET
  • Embargoed: 9th August 2017 10:29
  • Keywords: Aleppo recovery citizens return to Aleppo water services power services Syria aid
  • Location: ALEPPO, SYRIA
  • City: ALEPPO, SYRIA
  • Country: Syria
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016RCQWQV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:In eastern Aleppo, bodies still lie under the rubble, graveyards are full, people are short of electricity and bread, and some children take classes in mosques because their schools have been ruined by war.
    In al-Kalasa district, which Reuters visited in both early February and mid July with a government official who was present during some interviews with residents, the city's recovery seemed slow and largely out of state hands.
    Electricity came from private generators, water from wells or tanks filled by aid agencies, bread from charities, and basic education and healthcare with help from the United Nations.
    The government removed mountains of rubble from the main streets after the fighting, and Aleppo's assistant governor told Reuters the state was ultimately responsible for the services provided by aid agencies.
    But in al-Kalasa, retaken in December amid a furious bombardment with help from Russia and Iran, signs of the state's presence were thin on the ground.
    After six years of war, the Syrian state is in tatters. Large parts of the country remain outside its control. Western sanctions have hobbled the economy, water and power services are in ruins and road networks wrecked.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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