10 haunting before and after pictures of blood-soaked Aleppo
By: Team Ifairer | Posted: 18-12-2016
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Aleppo evokes images of blood-soaked children, decimated buildings and dust-covered rescue workers. But how much do you really know about what was once Syria`s largest city? In 2011, during the Middle Eastern protest movement known as the Arab Spring, protesters in Syria demanded the end of Ba`ath Party rule and the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad, whose family has held the presidency in the country since 1971. In April 2011, the Syrian Army was sent to quell the protest, and soldiers opened fire on demonstrators. After months of military sieges, the protests evolved into an armed rebellion that has spread across the country. Although the conflict was originally between factions for and against President Assad, the civil war has broadened into a battle between the country`s Sunni majority against the president`s Shia Alawite sect. The conflict has drawn in neighboring countries and world powers and led to the rise of jihadist groups, including Islamic State (ISIS).