Aleppo

Football returns to Aleppo after five years of war

Local side Al-Ittihad beat their city rivals Hurriya 2-1 on Saturday.

There has been no professional football in Aleppo since it was divided between the army and rebel forces in 2011.

But the government regained complete control of the city last month in a major offensive.

The grass was brown and weathered from the winter cold, and the stadium had clearly been damaged by the war's bombing campaigns - but the atmosphere was like any local football game elsewhere.

Russia: Syria establishes control over eastern Aleppo

"Over the last hour we've received information that the military activities in east Aleppo have stopped," Churkin said, according to a simultaneous translation provided by the UN. "So there's no question about cessation of hostilities, or humanitarian operations. The Syrian government has established control over east Aleppo so now the stage has come for practical humanitarian initiatives."

[Previous story, published 1:47 p.m. ET]

Tags: 

Bana's mom fights for her family's life in Aleppo

"You must carry a lot of patience, you must be stronger than anyone in the world," she said. "You must be both a father and a mother, even you must be kid to play with your children to make them feel they are not alone."

Since the conflict began in 2011, the mother of three has watched as her children's lives have been defined by war. Her two boys, Mohammed, 5, and Noor, 3, have known nothing but fighting.

Her eldest, 7-year-old Bana, has become a gap-toothed, pigtailed embodiment of the human toll this grinding conflict has had on the children of Syria.

Tags: 

UN chief warns of Aleppo 'atrocities'

Mr Ban urged all the sides, particularly Syria's government and its allies, to protect civilians.

UN humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland earlier said Syria and Russia were "accountable" for any atrocities committed by pro-government militias.

Major gains by Syria's army have left Aleppo rebels on the brink of defeat.

'Pray for us. Goodbye'

The tweet, coming as conditions inside besieged eastern Aleppo become ever more desperate, prompted deep concern for her welfare.

Under attack. Nowhere to go, every minute feels like death. Pray for us. Goodbye - Fatemah #Aleppo

— Bana Alabed (@AlabedBana) December 5, 2016

Tags: 

Aleppo: 7-year-old girl's Twitter account goes silent

The last message sent on the Twitter account Bana shares with her mother, Fatemah, was foreboding: "We are sure the army is capturing us now. We will see each other another day dear world. Bye.- Fatemah #Aleppo"

Her Twitter account was deleted and nobody knows why.

Bana, who had more than 100,000 followers, has tweeted dire messages before, as when she said on November 28: "Tonight we have no house, it's bombed and I got in rubble. I saw deaths and I almost died."

Tags: 

Syria's White Helmets apologize for Mannequin Challenge video

The short video -- a take on the Mannequin Challenge -- was created by the Revolutionary Forces of Syria (RFS), an opposition media group, to draw attention to the crisis amid a renewed aerial assault on the besieged city.

More than 300 people have been killed in Aleppo's rebel-held eastern districts since the Syrian regime resumed heavy bombardment last Tuesday following a three-week lull.

'Error of judgment'

Aleppo family of 6 killed in 'chemical attack'

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said preliminary reports indicated a married couple and their four children were killed in one of many airstrikes to hit the al-Sakhour neighborhood in Aleppo's besieged east. The group said chlorine gas was used in the bombardment.

he Aleppo Media Center (AMC) activist group also reported that the family was killed and posted a photo of the aftermath on Twitter. The AMC said a barrel bomb containing chlorine gas was dropped on the neighborhood from helicopters.

Aleppo residents get warning by text message: You have 24 hours to leave

The warning came via text message, urging the sick and wounded to flee before a "strategically planned assault using high precision weapons occurs within 24 hours."

Rebels were also given an ultimatum to lay down their arms and renounce their leadership, or be killed.

The message was likely sent by the Syrian government as the regime is likely the only party capable of sending a mass text to the entire population.

Airstrikes resume just hours after the Aleppo ceasefire ends

Residents said warplanes began bombing the city in the latter half of Sunday.

"The bombing started again," a Syrian White Helmet rescue worker named Ismail Abdullah told CNN by phone from eastern Aleppo.

"I heard a lot of bombing in the night. They were airstrikes."

 

Civilians urged to evacuate

The Syrian government and its close ally Russia announced the start of the ceasefire last Tuesday.

Originally, it was only expected to last eight hours, but ended up stretching several days.