By Dean Tan ‘ 18, News Editor

Since the start of the Syrian Civil War, the city of Aleppo has been the center of violence between rebel groups and the Syrian government, with thousands of civilians stuck amidst the escalating conflict. As of July 2012, the Battle of Aleppo has been an ongoing confrontation between the Syrian Armed Forces in the western part of the city and the rebel groups in the eastern half.

Several of the rebel groups in Aleppo, opposed to both the Assad regime and the Islamic State, have organized into operations room Fatah Halab (Conquest of Aleppo) with the aim of liberating the city from Assad’s forces, and they are backed by the United States. Member factions include the Free Idlib Army, a coalition of three divisions associated with the former Free Syrian Army; the Syrian Turkmen Brigade, heavily supported by Turkey; and several smaller Islamist groups.

Also fighting in Aleppo are Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, an al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria; and Ahrar al-Sham, a member of the Islamist Army of Conquest. Both are designated as terrorist organizations by the US and the UN, although the two groups are also opposed to Assad and the Islamic State.

On September 22, 2o16,  Syrian government forces and their Russian allies launched a barrage of over 40 airstrikes on the rebel-controlled areas of Aleppo. The following day, the government began a ground assault on eastern Aleppo, announcing the start of their military offensive. Over 370 civilians were killed and 1,200 wounded as the government aggressively reclaimed rebel territory–these casualties are among the 4,000 killed since the start of the conflict.

The unrelenting waves of airstrikes, conducted by both Russian and Syrian air forces, have been particularly vicious, targeting civilian areas with incendiary bombs, cluster munitions, and “bunker-busters.” The forces also conducted “double-tap” strikes in which rescue workers and vehicles were hit in a second round of bombing after an initial attack. Furthermore, the city’s infrastructure is crippled; bombs have knocked out a supply of running water to a significant part of the city.

After almost a month of airstrikes, the Russian government announced on October 17 that it would halt airstrikes for 8 hours on October 20. However, the airstrikes were halted on October 18, earlier than intended, and continued to be suspended until a scheduled truce on October 22. Though the Russian and Syrian governments suspended airstrikes to allow civilians and resistance fighters to evacuate, rebel officials refused to accept the proposal and claimed that civilians were prohibited from leaving. The Syrian government countered that the rebels had set up checkpoints around eastern Aleppo to stop evacuees. Regardless, the United Nations indicated that 275,000 civilians remain trapped in the rebel-controlled areas.

As of October 23, the ceasefire has ended and fighting has intensified. Russian and Syrian airstrikes continue to bombard eastern Aleppo, and the rebel groups have launched counter-attacks against regime-held areas. The rebels have staunchly refused to evacuate the city, and civilians also are reluctant to leave. The 275,000 civilians remain trapped, without access to outside aid.

Though the Syrian government, through the extended ceasefire, claims to be moving towards negotiations with the various opposition groups, rebel leaders remain skeptical. The month-long offensive came in the wake of an earlier attempt at a ceasefire between the United States and Russia, scheduled on September 12. However, on September 16, Russian began conducting airstrikes on rebel targets, following with an attack on a humanitarian convoy holding medicine, food, and supplies. Furthermore, on September 17, United States warplanes killed 62 Syrian government troops, who were mistakenly believed to be the Islamic State. As a result, the Syrian government accused the US of siding with the terrorists.

As the war continues to bring violence to Aleppo, and the opposition to Assad continues to manifest in constantly changing rebel groups and ideologies, the end to this conflict seems unreachable. The United Nations envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, warns that eastern Aleppo “may be totally destroyed” before Christmas – with aid groups blockaded from the hundreds of thousands of civilians still in the city, violence is likely to worsen. When asked if he saw a foreseeable end to the war, Mr. Reed shared “No, I do not. I don’t think there’s any endgame, I don’t think anybody’s thought of an endgame. I think that right now it’s just a question of reacting to things that happen.” As the renewed attacks following another unsuccessful ceasefire demonstrate, the war will continue to drag on.

At Newark Academy, there has been little talk of the continued violence in Syria. However, students are still aware of the conflict: Ryan Gajarawala ‘18 shared, “It’s getting worse. I think the world isn’t really uniting to eliminate the struggles that Syria is facing.” His statement reflects the continued tension between the US and Russia. William Cen ‘17 recalled, “I saw two videos on Facebook of children crying for their parents.” The heartbreaking video of a hospitalized 5-year old, Omran Daqneesh, covered in dirt and blood, was shared across the internet — perhaps one of the only instances in which coverage of the conflict was widely viewed.

Although the political turmoil of the elections here in the United States has been the primary topic of interest, the Syrian Civil War has not disappeared. Regardless if we pay attention to it or not, the war continues to be fought, violence continues to worsen, and the state of Aleppo and Syria continues to rapidly fall apart.