Some semblance of normality returned to battle-scarred Aleppo for a few hours on Saturday as local soccer clubs Al Ittihad and Horiyah met in the first derby in the city for five years. Horiyah player Firas al-Ahmad said that despite the ongoing problems in the city it was good to be home. “We are playing on our ground between our audiences in Aleppo,” he told Reuters TV. “It is our right to play in Aleppo. Aleppo, a once-flourishing economic centre with renowned ancient sites, has been pulverised during the war that has killed more than 300,000 people and created one of the world’s worst refugee crises.

Source: Hindustan Times January 29, 2017 11:17 UTC