News Summary: The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck near Aleppo, Syria has caused additional devastation and terror for the people of the city who have already suffered from years of war, displacement, and poverty. Many are now seeking refuge and the city has never fully recovered from the war, with much of it still in ruins
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck 70 miles away from Syria’s largest city, Aleppo, causing hundreds of buildings to collapse and killing over 360 people in the city and over 11,000 across southern Turkey and northern Syria.
The people of Aleppo have faced years of war, displacement, and poverty, which has made the shock and terror of the earthquake even more difficult for them to endure.
Many people are now afraid to return to their homes, and are seeking refuge in schools, cars, and a Maronite Christian monastery.
The war in Aleppo was a brutal siege that lasted from 2012 to 2016, and saw entire blocks of the city flattened by Syrian and Russian airstrikes, and mortar and rocket fire from opposition fighters.
The city has never fully recovered from the war, with only a small number of the damaged and destroyed buildings rebuilt, a population that is well below its pre-2011 population of 4.5 million, and much of the eastern sector still in ruins.
The earthquake is causing new trauma and leaving the people of Aleppo wondering if they deserve their fate after over 10 years of war and suffering.
Aleppo is a symbol of President Bashar Assad’s victory in reclaiming most opposition-held territory around Syria’s heartland with backing from Russia and Iran, but at the cost of horrific destruction.
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