The pictures captured by drones show a massive devastation in Aleppo, the economic capital of Syria and its second larger city, same as in Homs, and Jobar in Damascus. The pictures of these three cities conclude the painful scene of Syria caused by the war, and the aggressive bombing within five years of fighting that destroyed the vital facilities, population blocs, and infrastructure worth USD300 billion.
Yet, Aleppo is the most destroyed and devastated, representing 58% of the ruined surfaces in Syria due to the regime’s heavy bombing with the explosive barrels and the Russian missiles since 2013.
Aleppo belated its participation in the protests against the Syrian regime, but its neighborhoods were the fastest in breaking the regime’s forces’ control.
In 2012, some neighborhoods started to break the regime’s control, and the field witnessed many changes amidst blockades between the regime and the oppositions till the end of 2013.
*Inauguration on explosive barrels
The breach of the regime’s control was a direct excuse to bomb the neighborhoods daily with batteries, before transforming them into a target for the explosive barrels known with their random, non-directed fall. According to the opposition supporters, the regime has used the barrels’ weapon for the first time in 2013 to bomb the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo, which caused a huge destruction and paralyzed many regions. The opposition used the same tactic, and bombed the tunnels under the buildings where reside the regime forces on the demarcation lines with the historical neighborhoods…The Bombs of both parties caused massive devastation that included the damaged and the residential complexes.
A military source from the opposition said that the tunnels’ bombing was the best response on the regime’s aggressive bombing, and that when the regime forces felt their inability to retrieve the opposition’s neighborhoods, they adopted the policy of inclusive destruction to prevent the civilians from secure refuges by bombing them, aiming to weaken the popular support of the opposition. The same source confirms that the bombing and systematized destruction in the area didn’t push the inhabitants to leave, and the wide geographical surfaces protected the city from the blockade, which made the regime consider that loosing the control of its second capital is the strongest proof on its failure and weakness.
* Systematized destruction
The battles in the inner neighborhoods of Aleppo decreased with the beginning of 2014 with the withdrawal of the regime’s forces from the majority of them. The direct confrontations in city, which burned the biggest historical market, the old neighborhoods, and the Great Mosque of Aleppo, also calmed with the appearance of demarcation lines. Then, the neighborhoods suffered from the air bombing that compensated the regime’s failure in launching direct battles.
The above-mentioned information explains the reasons of the massive destruction that Aleppo faced in its population blocks and infrastructure more than other regions in Syria. Dr. Osama Kadi, head of “Syria’s Economic Working Group” told Asharq Al-Awsat that Aleppo enjoys a remarkable commercial, industrial, and logistic weight, and that the spread of the Free Syrian Army, and its control of large parts of the city was considered as a significant threat for the regime. He adds that when the regime forces failed in kicking the Free Syrian Army out of Aleppo, it demanded the help of the Russians, Iranians, and the supportive militias to retrieve the city.
Kadi notes that the regime and the Russians used the mightiest weapons in this city that will leave their marks on people and the environment even after the termination of this crisis. He continues that the last study for the World Bank showed that Aleppo’s share of the damages reached 58.10 among the other Syrian cities.
*Devastation of the industrial cities
Along with the architectural sector and the infrastructure, Kadi points that Aleppo is a pure industrial area, including around 38000 industrial establishments, and that many of the industrial zones suffered from incidents of burning, stealing, and destruction. He estimates that the damage has cost the city 60% of its manufacturing capacity, which used to produce more than USD5 billion annually.
Dr. Kadi adds that Aleppo’s bombing included many historical neighborhoods with 100 years-old architectures and damaged the Great Mosque built in 715 AD and the historical markets of the city established in the 14th century.
*Homs, Darayya, Jobar
The destruction also dominated other regions in Syria including Homos, and Damascus in Jobar and Darayya.
Kadi points that the primary estimations of losses across Syria exceed USD300 billion, while the reconstruction of the country, the rehabilitation of the damaged industries, and the revival of the economic cycle may require double of this sum over at least five years. He adds that the caretaker government needs innovated ideas, national funding alternatives, and partnerships with specialized Arabian companies so Syria don’t sink in debts following this disastrous destruction that overtook Germany’s destruction during the Second World War II, as admitted Bashar Al Assad in his latest speech.
Osama Kadi explains that the sectors of housing, education, and health are the most affected by devastation during the last five years, as the air strikes and explosive barrels have targeted the residential neighborhoods, which pushed 12 million civilians to displace, with 5 millions of them leaved the country. He adds that the agricultural sector was also remarkably affected and that the labor forces have left fear of the unstable security.
*World Bank’s Initiative
The “Syria Information and Research Initiative (SIRI)” of the World Bank has prepared a scheme showcasing the destruction that attacked the main cities in Syria, the damaged sites, and the facilities that still operate, or stopped.
Official in the World Bank says that the agency is using the newest technologies and maintains readiness to kick off the reconstruction projects in Syria once the conflict’s severity declines.
Yet, planning isn’t sufficient anymore, as the deterioration in Syria is raising many question marks on how to cope with the facts on ground and to set a reconstruction strategy.
Syrian Crisis Beats German Crisis in World War II
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