The skies over Aleppo that used to buzz to the sound of attack helicopters and the roar of fighter jets are largely clear, at least for the meantime. What replaces these skies is unkind rainfall.
Although it is agonizing to dwell on the misfortunes of a string of crisis events in Syria, it is important for the future educators of our world to have an insight on what becomes of cities caught up in intensified conflict. Mounds of rubbish in Aleppo have not stopped rising in the preceding winter months. There have been serious setbacks as a result of rebel occupation in the heart of Aleppo’s ancient city.
 

What remains a reality in Syria is a life full of torment and trauma. Families once bonded under the same roof are now dispersed around all parts of Syria, trying desperately to cross its nation’s borders to escape the ongoing conflict.
Media suggests refugees have been taking flight to other neighbouring countries. It is estimated that more than 400,000 Syrians have fled to Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey and are receiving assistance from the UN.
In addition, 2.5 million citizens are known to be locally displaced due to the outbreaks of war.  Refugees have been flooding into neighbouring countries. It has been reaffirmed on countless occasions that Syria’s populace will need UN support in the coming year.

The conflict started in Syria’s southern city of Deraa, after the arrest and alleged torture of some teenagers who painted revolutionary slogans on a school wall. The news leaked rapidly and became a nationwide concern demanding the resignation of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

Impoverished communities can now be seen picking at the rubbish mounds in search of food rations to survive in the unsympathetic winter months in Syria’s Aleppo. What has become of this rebel-governed place is indeed a concern not only to the individual put to a father who seeks to feed his starving children in the midst of rebel conflict.
BBC’s Ian Pannel reports on the severities faced by Syria’s common people in Aleppo. Many of Aleppo’s residents still cling to the hope of a better future and a more welcoming tomorrow that embraces peace and stability. These same residents are still hopeful that the continuing fighting will die out and pave the way for necessary social reforms.
“In free Syria, petrol now comes from a barrel at the side of the road. Three times the price it was before the revolution.  People queue for hours in the cold for bread, now ten times more expensive and in short supply. The bombardment has subsided, but the suffering hasn’t and the fighting has just moved elsewhere,” explains BBC’s Ian Pannel.
There is now a sentiment of stress and anxiety installed in the combative bodies supporting the Syrian government and the rebel forces. Signs of warfare can be seen between the conflicts of these two rival groups.
The stubborn rebels are not afraid of making a stand and overruling small government camps positioned near their frontier line.  Their war code is strictly on a hit-until-destroyed basis. Few survivors have emerged from a scene of bloodshed and dismay. 

Aleppo’s darkening hours see a street left abandoned by people. There have been power and water shortages as a result of cuts, and as night falls starvation and darkness lurks over the city. Those few, who still take to the streets after the sun has set, are still determined on queuing for bread and other cheap resources.
Aleppo’s loyalist social bands have been persistently shelled and shot at as winter’s bitter months start to set in. A cold and hungry population is eagerly persevering to earn some reconciliation in a potentially revolutionized Syria.  Normal life no longer resides within the city of Aleppo. Instead, families flee to abandoned sites and ruins under the most shocking circumstances. These communities have been stripped of everything that holds dear to them, and all they can do is pray and hope for the day when their nation no longer maltreats them as refugees.
A victim of Aleppo’s internal conflicts, Abu Fadi has been on his feet in a queue for an uncompromising three hours, waiting for the opportunity to collect his rations from a star around the corner.  "There is no bread, no water, no electricity, no work," he said. "It takes more than 24 hours to get bread and it's been five days since I was even able to take a shower." 

Anger and frustration result in frequent arguments outside of food shelter windows.  People’s attention has no longer strayed from the fact that their country is undergoing a series of condemning hostilities.  The rebel forces, dubbed “Free Syrian Army”, are trying to keep the cool among Aleppo’s streets, but anger remains unsettled. "I blame the FSA because it's in charge. The one in charge should provide water, food, everything," complained Abu Walid with righteous indignation. "Who's in charge? Aren't they in charge of us?"
Those who did not take refuge were left in the rubble of their homes. It is unsurprising that a conflict, now ongoing since March of 2011, has resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of lives. Reprisal is sought after by innocents caught up in an unknown battle, but little has let up in the way of rebel aggressiveness.  Syria is now a nation truly divided on all fronts.