Even if it were somehow possible to escape eastern Aleppo, Abdullah Shiyani, a 10-year-old boy who dreams of being a doctor, says he wouldn't leave. Aleppo, Syria's biggest city before civil war uprooted half of the country's population and killed hundreds of thousands of people, is now the conflict's biggest prize. He said around 15 to 20 percent of eastern Aleppo's residents left during the time the siege was lifted. Electricity from motor generators is available only for three to six hours a day and damage to power facilities has long left eastern Aleppo with no running water. A Syrian military source said the aim is to stop rebel shelling of western Aleppo and to encircle the militants in the east.

Source: Egypt Independent September 10, 2016 09:00 UTC