Two different worlds collide in Syria’s bloody civil war

Published on 30/07/2012 00:00

The route to Aleppo from the Turkish border is a long web of dirt back roads with miles of exposed ground. But undaunted and in total darkness, dozens of young men jump on to white trucks with their AK-47 rifles, keen to join the fight there.

Syria’s 16-month revolt has finally erupted in the country’s commercial hub, but the momentum was not generated inside the city – it was brought into the historic city’s ancient stone alleyways from the scorched fields of the surrounding countryside.

“We liberated the rural parts of this province. We waited and waited for Aleppo to rise, and it didn’t. We couldn’t rely on them to do it for themselves so we had to bring the revolution to them,” said a rebel commander in a nearby village, who calls himself Abu Hashish.

The short, scrawny man with a drooping grey moustache sits juggling mobile phones and a walkie-talkie, arranging for the next convoy to head for Aleppo.

Tanks of fuel and homemade grenades for use in rocket launchers are piled up along the outside of his house, ready to be dispatched.

“About 80 per cent of the fighters in this city come from the countryside. Aleppo is a business town, people said they wanted to stay neutral. But now that we have come, they seem to be accepting us,” he said.

As towns across Syria were rocked by the uprising against president Bashar al-Assad – in which it is estimated 18,000 people have been killed – Aleppo, home to conservative Muslim families and businesses, stayed largely silent.

Exasperated by the slow progress in Aleppo, rebels in the countryside said they were finally emboldened to push into the city after an assassination in the capital Damascus of four top government officials, including the defence minister.

“It was a boost to our spirits. We were so excited because we knew it was time. Aleppo is the economic centre, the true source of regime power. If we can strike it hard, and hold on, we can bring Bashar down,” said one rebel fighter joining the convoy who called himself Abu Bakr.

As they arrived in Aleppo before dawn, the fighters sped through the winding alleyways of the city’s outskirts shouting: “God is great”. And then the morning skirmishes began.

The rattle of rebel machine gun fire greeted the thuds of army tank fire, artillery could be heard in the distance, and an air force fighter jet streaked overhead. The streets of rebel-held neighbourhoods are a graveyard of overturned, torched buses, placed along the streets by rebels to block army tanks from rolling in. The charred remains of tanks can also be seen – in heaps – in palm tree-lined thoroughfares.

“So far things here are going well for us. We have been used to fighting in olive groves and open fields. We were always exposed,” said 23-year-old Hakour.

Lounging inside a school taken over by the rebels as a temporary base, he said: “It’s much nicer to fight here where we can hide in alleyways and buildings. We will stay until Aleppo is free.”

Toting grenade launchers, the fighters are incongruous beside pastel-coloured walls.

The rebels drink fizzy soft drinks as they sing and make jokes.

But their jubilation is premature. A few minutes later, a loud blast shakes the school and the rebels scatter to grab their weapons and head to the basement – a reminder of the army’s determination to crush the uprising.

Just 12 miles outside Aleppo, rebels have declared most of the countryside free of Assad’s
forces. In the villages men gather to smoke and chat at night, while women wrapped in
colourful veils let their children run on to the rubble-strewn streets to cheer at smiling gunmen.

“God protect the Free Syrian Army,” they shouted.

Despite the tentative calm their home towns now enjoy, there is a hint of resentment towards Aleppo’s residents from rural fighters.

“My brother was shot dead just last month,” says 22-year-old fighter Mustafa. He points out other faces in the crowd of rebel fighters.

“His cousin died six months ago. Soldiers poured gasoline on him and set him on fire,” Mustafa says.

Outside the city, Abu Hashish says more sacrifices are necessary, and the time has come for his urban brothers to share the burden.

“In Aleppo they only think about trade, about money. They think about their own life, they think about their children’s future. They don’t fight the regime because they care about the here and now,” he said.

“In the countryside we know we must give up on the present. I will sacrifice my life and my children’s lives. Let them destroy our homes.

“This fight is for a new generation coming that will have a chance to have a life of dignity. And for me, that is worth sacrificing everything.”