What's Happening in Aleppo? — TheWriteFashion

The war in Syria has gone on for over five years and has claimed the lives of more than a quarter of a million people.

It is being fought between soldiers who support the president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, and a group of fighters known as rebels, who don't want him to be in power anymore.

Because it is being fought between two sides within the same country, it is known as a civil war.

There has been a significant battle in the Syrian city of Aleppo recently, which is part of this conflict.

How did it all start?

The trouble began in 2011 in the Syrian city of Deraa. It began because local people decided to protest after 15 schoolchildren were arrested - and reportedly tortured - for writing anti-government graffiti on a wall.

The protests were peaceful to begin with, calling for the release of the children, democracy and greater freedom for people in the country. The government responded angrily and, on 18 March 2011, the army opened fire on protesters, killing four people. The following day, they shot at mourners at the victims' funerals, killing another person. People were shocked and angry at what had happened and soon the unrest spread to other parts of the country. In July 2012, the International Red Cross said the violence in Syria had become so widespread that it was in a state of civil war.

Have the protesters got what they wanted?

When the war first began, the protesters just wanted democracy and greater freedom.

But once government forces opened fire on peaceful demonstrations, people demanded that President Bashar al-Assad resign. However, he refused to do this which made the protesters extremely angry.As the violence got worse, he offered to change some things about the way the country was run, but the protesters didn't believe him.

Is there anyone else involved?

Complicating the situation further, the crisis in Syria has become more than just a war between people who are for or against President Assad. In early 2014, in neighboring Iraq, an extremist group that calls itself Islamic State - or IS - began to take over large areas of the country.

What has been the impact of the war on people living in Syria?

The war has meant that millions of ordinary people living in Syria have had to escape from their homes in order to find somewhere safer to live. Some have stayed in Syria, while others have left the country entirely.

Many of those that remain in Syria have run away from the cities to seek safety in the countryside. Lots of children can no longer go to school because their schools have been destroyed or there are no teachers where they have moved to.

Of those that have left Syria, many have fled to the neighboring nations of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq. When people are forced to leave the country where they live like this, they become known as refugees. The conflict in Syria has caused one of the largest refugee movements in recent history.

Many refugees have made the decision to try to reach Europe, which can be a long and dangerous journey. This is because some countries in Europe have said they will accept refugees who want to start a new life here.

Millions of people both inside and outside Syria are in desperate need of help, but aid agencies say that getting aid to people inside the country is very difficult and dangerous. In September 2016, a convoy of aid lorries was hit by an attack, meaning the UN announced it would be stopping all aid in Syria. People trying to carry on their lives in this country are in desperate need for the situation to change.

Everyone in Syria will know people who have died in this conflict, but the exact number of those who are gone may never be known.

What else do we need to know about this war?

One other topic that has been widely discussed about the war in Syria is about the weapons that have been used. There is an international law which bans countries from using chemical weapons in warfare, as they are deemed too cruel to use on other human beings". Courtesy of BBC

To find out more about what has been happening in Aleppo, click here.