In 2011, Aleppo was Syria’s largest city with a population of 2.5 million people. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has been described by Time as Syria’s commercial capital. Author Diana Darke has written that “The city has long been multi-cultural, a complex mix of Kurds, Iranians, Turkmen, Armenians and Circassians overlaid on an Arab base in which multi-denominational churches and mosques still share the space.”
Since the battle for Aleppo began: at least 30,000 people have died and half its 2.5 million inhabitants have been forced to flee. Barrel bombs, rockets and mortars along with conventional munition have destroyed 80% of the buildings, and of the old city’s 100 mosques, a quarter lie in ruins while the rest are badly damaged. More than half of the listed buildings in the old city – including many souks, its famous citadel, the minaret of the 11th-century Umayyad mosque, along with bath houses, schools, hospitals and entire residential districts – have been reduced to rubble.
This is so sad to see a beautiful country turned to rubble. The following set of images shows exactly the real cost of war that many do not see.
Via BoredPanda
