The Aleppo Weekly is a compilation of what CCNR staff found to be the week’s most compelling stories, images, videos, and other resources that provide information about the life in the Syrian city, analyze the conflict that is destroying it, and help residents plan for their future. The weekly follows topics of interest to the Center’s researchers, and has a special focus on those displaced from the city and others whose voices are rarely heard when it comes to peacemaking or reconstruction.

STORIES OF THE WEEK

Police in the eastern Karm an-Nuzha district arrested a group of thieves stealing cables from the electrical grid to sell as copper scrap.

Zahraa News Network reported that shabiha leader Ali Shelleh blocked food trucks from entering the west of the city for refusing to pay protection taxes.  They also said the National Defense Army and other government-affiliated shabiha (militias) engage in an increasing number of criminal activities in western Aleppo, including removing electrical cables in Zahra district to sell the copper.

Free Aleppo University continues to recruit students and extended its application deadline for students to study medicine.

In economic news, one US Dollar now equals 400 Syrian Lira. Before the war, the exchange rate held stable for years at 46 – 50 SL per USD.

Photo: Farhan Anwar

Toward a Shared Vision of Urban Reform— Urban Planning Thoughts from Karachi–Pakistan’s largest city and commercial capital.

Fighting continued in the city and Aleppo province and dozens died in barrel bomb, cluster munition, and other attacks. Affected areas included Aleppo’s Old City and Salaheddin district as well as the towns of al-Bab, Tal Jebbin, Ahres, Tal Rifaat, Azaz, Qabbaseen, Hayya, and Hretan.

IMAGES AND VIDEOS OF THE WEEK

Photo: Ahmad Bilal Hallaq, Halab News Photography

Children playing in rain water in the Maasaraniyeh informal settlement in eastern Aleppo.

Photos by Ahmad Hamedo from Halab News Photography.

“Child labour in Aleppo as schooling stops due to bombing”

Photo: Laura Aggio Caldon, CNN

Syria’s ‘Lost Generation’ of Girls

Photo: Ahmad Bilal Hallaq, Halab News Photography

Atma Camp near Turkish border.

At a camp for Syrian internally displaced people on the Turkish border an NGO is using a bus equipped with a kitchen to supply food to thousands.

Defying the Madness of War– The embattled city of Aleppo is scarred by years of war. But amid the chaos, 69-year-old Abu Omar is clinging to the things that gave beauty to his life.

District councils in eastern Aleppo have started a census to count all families and businesses. The aim of the 140 people involved is to organize relief efforts and make these efforts more equitable. The census also includes education-related information to possibly assist people with finding jobs and counting those who have left school with the hope of bringing them back to continue their studies. (In Arabic)